Predictor of the Future
by Tacuma
Summary: Fantasy/Medieval AU. Fuji is a seer and he is sold to the king by his own father. For the little boy it's difficult to get used to his new life in the castle, but Tezuka, he son of the king's advisor, helps him find his way.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **1/26 (probably)  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1715 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

**WARNING**: This is my NaNoWriMo story for 2011. Which means I wrote 50k in a hurry and this is not beta-ed, just edited by me. There will be grammar and spelling mistakes. No need to point them out, I'm too lazy to change them anyway.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

'Why are you here and what do you want?' asked King Atobe bored. He was sitting on his red and gold colored chair that he called his throne, but it was actually just a chair. He was looking utterly bored at the man that had just entered the room.

'I have debts,' said the man. 'I am here to pay them off.'

'Do I look like I have time for such small things?' asked the King. He did look like he had more than enough time for it, but nobody said anything about it. 'Go to one of the accountants and pay them.'

'I have been there,' answered the man. 'But he sent me here, since he didn't know what to do. He said you would know what to do, Your Majesty.'

'That means you have something else than money to offer me,' said King Atobe suddenly interested. 'Tell me, what is it that you have for me?'

'My son.'

The King was surprised. He looked at the little boy standing next to the man. He looked like he was about three years old. He was trying to hide behind his old man, but the father pushed him forward instead.

'Is that him?' asked the King. 'Doesn't look like he is anything special. He is too young to work as a servant and I wouldn't know what else I could use a kid for. Why do you think you can pay off your debts with him?'

'My son will be very useful for you, I promise you,' answered the man. 'He has a special ability. He is a Seer, Your Majesty, he can see the future! Not just that, he can look back in history as well. He can tell you what happened yesterday, a year ago and even what happened before he was born. You could use it in all kinds of situations.'

'I see, well that would change this situation,' said the King as he stood up from his throne. He approached the little boy and looked at him. 'What is your name, young man? And how old are you?'

'My name is Fuji Syuusuke, Your Majesty,' said the boy. 'I'm five years old.'

'Five?!' asked the King. 'You're rather small for your age, you know that? But well, Fuji Syuusuke, if you can see the future, tell me what I will have for dinner tonight!'

'Duck,' Your Majesty. 'With cranberry sauce. Also caviar. I don't know the other dishes, but you will have pudding as a dessert. Coconut pudding to be precise.'

The King called for the cook and asked him what would be served for dinner. The cook named the same dishes as the boy had done, only he named a few more, the ones that Fuji hadn't recognized.

'That is amazing,' whispered the King.

'I know,' answered the cook. 'Coconut is hard to obtain, so I'm very glad I can make this very special dessert for you tonight.'

'I wasn't talking about the food, idiot!' said Atobe. 'Go back and finish your cooking already. I was talking to the boy. Tell me Fuji-kun, how did my father die? Did he die of natural causes or was he murdered? I think he was poisoned, but I couldn't prove it. But you know, don't you? Tell me, who did it?'

'Your Majesty, that is not something you can ask a five year old boy!' said a man who had been standing next to the throne the entire time.

'I finally have the chance to find out about what happened to my beloved father. He was a great king, but he died at a very young age. It was more than a little suspicious! But now I will know the truth, Tezuka.'

'It will corrupt his mind!' said Tezuka Kuniharu. 'He is…'

Before he could finish his sentence Fuji Syuusuke had stepped forward and spoke: 'He is not killed. He died a natural death. He had been ill for a while, but he did not want anybody to know, because everyone would worry needlessly.'

The King looked at the little boy. Fuji had his eyes opened. They were the brightest blue Atobe had ever seen. He blinked to see if he wasn't imagining things, but by then those eyes were closed again.

'I think my son has seen a lot already,' said Fuji's father. 'From the day he was born he has been able to see the future and the past. He sometimes warned me, his mother or his siblings not to go out, because something could happen.'

'Then he would be able to see what will happen to me,' spoke the King. 'When will I die, little boy?'

'I can't say,' said Fuji. 'It will depend on the choices you make in your life, Your Majesty. I can see a few hundred different futures for you. In some you die at a young age, in some you die at very old age.'

'There are certain rules when it comes to his ability,' said Fuji's father. 'He can tell you what choice to make or what the outcome would be if you make a certain choice, but questions about things so far in the future are impossible to answer. If you turn left instead of right the future will be different already. Of course it is different with the history, because it has already happened, but there are also rules for that. Syuusuke could answer your question about your father, because of you. When asking something about someone's history that person has to be close by or someone very close to him or her has to be close by. It's the same when you ask something about the present, but what is happening on the other side of the country. You could ask about the well-being of a close friend of a family member, but not about strangers.'

'You make it complicated,' sighed the King who sat back on his throne again. 'Why do there always have to be rules?!'

'I'm sorry Your Majesty. I hope you can still accept my son as a payment off my debts.'

'Are you sure you want to leave your own flesh and blood here?' asked Tezuka Kuniharu who was looking at the other man with piercing eyes. He was obviously against it.

'What are you talking about, Tezuka?' asked Atobe. 'You are my councilor, my advisor, not _his_. You're supposed to advise me about what would be good _for me_! And I think having that boy here at the castle will be very good for me. I will be invincible! Your son will stay here, Fuji-san. You have repaid your debt. If you ever need anything you are welcome to come and ask. You gave me something worth more than all the money in the world, just let me know when I can do something for you in return.'

'Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you,' said the man. 'I might one day need your help again, but for now I'm very happy with this arrangement. I'm glad we both benefit from this.'

'So am I, Fuji-san, so am I,' smiled King Atobe too friendly.

'Be a good boy and don't cause any trouble for the King or anybody else, Syuusuke,' said the father.

'You're leaving?' asked the little boy as he looked up as his daddy.

'Yes I'm going now, make sure you're a good help for King Atobe, alright?' With that said he turned around and walked away, leaving the blue-eyed boy alone. The kid looked how his father walked away and how the doors closed behind him. He was all alone in a place he didn't know. A little frightened he turned back to the King.

'Give him a room in the right wing of the castle. There must be one free in on the floor for the servants. Bring him there, give him some clothes and make sure he knows how to get back here. I might need him soon.'

'Yes, Your Majesty,' said one of the servants and he walked to the little Seer.

'Your Majesty, he is just a little kid,' said Tezuka. 'You take him away from his family and just put him in a room here? At least let him go to school and let him play with kids of his own age. All kids need that.'

'Your kid doesn't seem to need that,' smirked the King.

'Even my son needs that. Every boy will become a better man if they learn how to interact with others at a young age. He can even practice his ability, so he could become more useful for you.'

'Alright, I guess you know more about these things than I do. He can go to the school, but he will get a room in the castle. I want him to be able to answer my questions instantly, even in the middle of the night. And because Tezuka thinks he is old and wise, his kid can show Fuji-kun around. As class representative he should be able to make our new employee feel welcome, right?'

'Yes, Your Majesty,' answered Tezuka. He bowed slightly. 'I'll make sure it will happen. Fuji-kun, please follow me.'

Tezuka Kuniharu was a strict man who raised his own son to be tough and strong, but when he noticed the fear in those blue orbs he felt like hugging the boy.

'You will make a lot of friends here,' he said, trying to comfort Fuji a little. 'My son is a few years older than you are and he will show you everything you need to know. You can always ask him about things you don't know. And when he is not around there are plenty of other people who will gladly help you.'

When this boy would open his eyes everybody would help him without hesitating. They were mesmerizing. They worked like magic.

'When can I see Okaa-san, nee-san and Yuuta again?' asked Fuji.

'I don't know,' answered the councilor. 'But I'm sure you will get to see them again.' Tezuka wasn't sure if the kid would ever see his family again, but he couldn't tell him that. But the most surprising was the fact that Fuji didn't ask if he would ever see his father again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **2/26 (probably)  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1715 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 2**

'I'm Tezuka Kunimitsu, nice to meet you.'

Fuji looked at the boy in front of him. He looked exactly like his father, only smaller. 'I'm Fuji Syuusuke,' he answered a little shy. With his father around he had been brave, but now that he was alone and surrounded by strangers he didn't feel comfortable anymore. There was nobody left who would protect him now.

'Kunimitsu, could you show Fuji-kun around? He will get the empty bedroom at the end of the right hall on the second floor. Take him to the tailor to take his measurements and show him the most important places. Don't forget the school.'

'Yes, Otou-san,' answered his son. The man walked away and the younger Tezuka turned to Fuji.

'How old are you?'

'Five,' answered Fuji.

'You're really young to be a servant of the King. I'm seven.'

'Are you also a servant?' asked Fuji curiously.

'No, I'm training to become the King's advisor, like my father. Follow me, I'll show you your room.'

They climbed a few stairs and took the right hall way on the second floor. There were doors on both sides, but all of them were closed. They stopped at the last one.

'This is your room,' said Tezuka. He opened the door and showed it to the younger boy. 'You're young to have a room for yourself, but most servants are older than you.'

Fuji wasn't listening. He climbed on the bed and looked out of the small window. He had a view over a nice little square where lots of people were working and walking around.

'We'll go outside later, please follow me.'

Obediently Fuji jumped off the bed again and followed the older boy through the hall way again. They went down the stairs to the basement.

'Here is the kitchen,' explained Tezuka. 'Here you can get your breakfast in the morning. There is a dining area here, there we eat our meals. We will grab lunch with the entire class and dinner as well, but you have to go and get breakfast by yourself.'

He took Fuji upstairs again and this time they left the castle and walked outside. Fuji noticed he was on the square he could see from his bedroom window. It was lively. Kids were running around, adults were carrying things into the castle or were working in front of the little houses. There were even a few animals. A few dogs were walking around and as soon as Fuji stepped outside a black cat walked towards him. Fuji kneeled down and patted the animal's head, but Tezuka told him to hurry up.

Fuji noticed there were a lot of small houses on the square. It were houses, but they looked like shops as well. He noticed something that looked like a bakery, a smith and he also found the tailor. It was like the castle had its own market. But Tezuka took him to another building first. It was bigger than most others.

'This is the school,' explained Tezuka. 'All the kids of the people who work at the castle will go here. One day they will work at the castle themselves.'

Fuji looked around the school building. There were a lot of tables and chairs. He had never been to a school. His mother had learned him a few things, but they never had enough money to actually go to school.

'This is Ryuuzaki-sensei, she is our teacher,' continued Tezuka.

There was an old brown-haired woman standing in front of them who looked curiously at Fuji.

'Who are you? I haven't seen you around here!'

'I'm Fuji Syuusuke,' Fuji introduced himself again.

'And will you join my class, Fuji-kun?' asked the woman.

Fuji looked at Tezuka. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about anything here at the castle. He didn't understand what he was supposed to do.

'He will be working for King Atobe, but my father said he will be going to school as well. He will only have to work when the King will need him.'

'How old are you, Fuji-kun?'

'Five,' answered the little boy.

'And what will you be doing for the King?

'He wants me to tell him what will happen in the future.'

Ryuuzaki-sensei raised her eyebrows. 'You can look into the future?' she asked. The boy nodded. 'That is something the King will indeed like very much. Don't your parents mind?'

'Daddy brought me here,' answered Fuji with a smile. 'He said I would be very useful!'

'I can imagine,' said the teacher with a frown. She didn't like it at all, but she quickly hid her frown and smiled at the young boy again. 'You will be very useful and I am very happy to have such a nice kid like you in my class. Tezuka-kun, the other kids are playing outside, maybe the two of you can join them until it's time for dinner?'

Tezuka shook his head. 'We still have to go to the tailor,' he answered.

'Hurry up then, if you go now you can be done when I will take your class mates for dinner. You wouldn't want to miss dinner, would you?'

The two boys hurried out of the little school again and ran to the house of the tailor. Fuji looked at all the fabrics that were lying around in the room. There was a man sitting on the table. He was working with a beautiful piece of cloth, but he looked up when the door opened.

'How can I help you?' he asked.

'Fuji-kun needs some clothes,' said Tezuka.

'Fuji-kun?' asked the man as he got down from the table. 'I have never seen you before. Are you new here?'

The younger boy nodded and said he would be working for the King. The tailor didn't ask anything. He thought the kid was just mistaking and that one of his parents had started working for the King.

'Let's take your measurements then! Don't move, so I won't make your clothes too big!' The man started to measure Fuji and wrote everything he needed down.

'Now, what is your favorite color?'

'Blue,' answered Fuji.

'Good, I'll make something blue for you then! But you have to hurry now! I think I hear Ryuuzaki-sensei calling!'

The boys went outside again and joined the other kids that were gathering around their teacher. She brought them to the dining area and made sure they all got some food. Fuji had never had such tasty things before, but he hardly had time to eat. He was too busy looking around. There were so many kids and they were all talking and joking with each other. He was a little jealous, he wanted to have fun with the other kids as well. But he was sitting next to Tezuka, who didn't say a word during dinner and just focused on his food.

After dinner the group of kids went outside again. Fuji wanted to follow them and see if he could play a little with them, but Tezuka stopped him.

'It's time for bed,' he said. 'Do you remember the way to your room?'

Fuji bit his lip and shook his head.

'I'll show you again then,' answered Tezuka a little irritated. He brought Fuji to the second floor and pointed at the door that lead to his room. Fuji opened it and looked expectantly at Tezuka.

'I go to my own room now. Goodnight.'

'Nii-chan!' shouted Fuji. Tezuka turned back. 'When will daddy come back?'

'He is not coming back. You have your own room, you sleep alone.'

Tears welled in the eyes of the blue-eyed boy and they slowly ran down his cheeks. He cried and called for his mother. 'I don't want to sleep alone!'

Tezuka entered the room and sat down on the bed next to Fuji. He didn't really know what to do. He didn't have any siblings, but he had seen some of the other kids comfort each other. So he put his hand on Fuji's shoulder and patted it. Fuji buried his face in Tezuka's clothes. Tezuka awkwardly hugged the younger boy. When the crying finally stopped there was still a sad expression of Fuji's face.

'Yuuta and I always slept in a bed together. I don't want to sleep alone.'

'I'll stay,' said Tezuka. 'Go to bed, I'll stay.'

Fuji quickly undressed himself and got into the bed. He didn't have pajamas, so he slept in his underwear. He pulled the blankets over his body and then smiled at Tezuka.

'Thank you Nii-chan.'

Tezuka just nodded at him. He didn't have to wait too long. It took Fuji only a few minutes to fall asleep. He had been really tired from the long day in this new environment. When Tezuka was sure the other was asleep he walked out of the room and went to his own bed. Some of the kids who lived at the castle lived in a small house at the square with their parents, but Tezuka's parents had their own room inside the castle and kids didn't fit in there. So Tezuka and a few other kids slept in a building next to the school. There was a room for the girls and one for the boys. Every morning they could help each other and make sure they would all be in time for breakfast.

Tezuka was always one of the first to wake up. He always got himself dressed before he woke the others. As soon as they were awake they become really noisy and started yelling at each other and Tezuka liked his peace. Now he had a good excuse to leave the noise. As soon as they were all awake and out of bed he walked to the castle and knocked on Fuji's door. When there was no answer he went inside and woke the kid up.

'Wake up, you'll be late for breakfast,' said Tezuka.

Slowly Fuji opened his eyes. He didn't seem to recognize his surroundings, but when he saw Tezuka's face he looked more at ease. He quickly got out of bed and got himself dressed.

'Thank you for staying with me, Nii-chan,' he said.

Tezuka just nodded, but he wasn't planning to stay with this boy every evening.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **3/26 (probably)  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1287 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Fuji's first day at school wasn't too bad. He was intrigued that he could finally join the other kids and play with them. He enjoyed the lessons and learned eagerly. He had never gone to school before.

Since there weren't too many kids at the castle all of them were in the same class, even though they were all of different ages. Kids around the same age sat together, so Fuji was separated from Tezuka, but he quickly made other friends. There was a hyperactive boy with bright red hair, named Kikumaru Eiji. He was the son of the gardener and only a few months younger than the Seer. He immediately proclaimed Fuji as his friend and made sure the new boy would call him 'Eiji'.

Eiji adored Fuji and asked him all kinds of questions about the future. Fuji couldn't answer them all, but he tried his very best. He liked the redhead and he wanted to become friends with him. But when it was time for lunch Fuji sat down next to Tezuka again. The older boy was surprised, but didn't say anything about it. Fuji just smiled at him. They ate in silence, just like the evening before.

In the afternoon the younger kids got time to play. There were too young to concentrate on classes the entire day. That would give Ryuuzaki-sensei time to teach the older kids more difficult things. Fuji and his new friend Eiji got company from a boy named Saeki Kojiroh. Saeki was the son of one of King Atobe's personal servants.

The three of them made puzzles together. Fuji was really good at it, like he had been good at answering difficult questions the teacher had asked them. He secretly used his ability to find the pieces of the puzzle and he had done the same with the questions. It was easy to look into the future or to look back in history to see other people who had answered Ryuuzaki-sensei's questions. He could even see if the answer that had been given were right or wrong.

It didn't take long before Eiji found out that Fuji was cheating, but he didn't mind at all. He started to hide things without showing Fuji where he had hid it and then asked where it was. Fuji could easily point out where it was. The three of them made a game of it and even turned it around. Fuji hid things, but his friends weren't able to find them back.

When they got bored of it they went outside to play hide and seek. As soon as Fuji stepped out of the school, the black cat walked towards him again. Fuji stroked the soft fur and softly talked to the animal.

'Who's cat is this?' he asked his friends.

'Nobody's cat,' answered Saeki. 'I don't think any of the animals here have an owner. Everybody feeds them now and then.'

'Does he have a name?'

'I just call him cat!' laughed Eiji. 'The other cats too!'

'He doesn't have another name. His name is cat!' laughed Saeki.

'I'll call him Yuuta then,' answered Fuji seriously.

'That is a stupid name,' stated Eiji and he stuck out his tongue.

'It's not!' shouted Fuji. 'Yuuta is my brother and the cat is frowning, just like Yuuta always does. That is why I will call him Yuuta!'

'You should call him Tezuka then,' grinned Saeki.

'I can't!' said Fuji. 'Tezuka is already Tezuka. The cat would be confused.' He lifted the cat in his arms and hugged it, even though the animal was rather big. 'You'll be Yuuta.'

When the other two boys started to touch the cat as well the animal jumped out of Fuji's arms and ran away. They went to play hide and seek instead. Momoshiro, the son of another servant joined them. He didn't understand why Fuji always managed to find him so quickly. After a few times Eiji couldn't hide his big grin anymore and told him why Fuji knew his hiding place so well. After that Fuji was only allowed to hide, because it was too easy for him to search for the others.

One and a half hour after the younger kids were done with school, the older kids were done as well. Some happily ran out of the warm, dusty building to finally get to play outside again. Tezuka was the last one to leave the building. As soon as he walked out, Fuji approached him.

'Do you want to play hide and seek with us?' he asked. His three friends were shocked. Tezuka never played with the other kids, he always sat somewhere with a book, but he actually said 'yes' and brought his book back inside. Fuji had a happy smile on his face and told him to hide, because it was Saeki's turn to seek them.

They played different games until it was time for dinner. They had dinner like all the other meals had been, but then it was time to go to bed.

'Nii-chan, will you come with me?' Fuji asked.

'Only today,' answered Tezuka. 'You will have to go on your own tomorrow.'

Fuji nodded and was glad Tezuka walked with him. He knew the way by now, but he was scared to go alone into the enormous castle. Just like the night before Tezuka stayed until Fuji was asleep and then left to go to his own bed.

Fuji fell asleep quickly. It had once again been a tiring day. But in the middle of the night he woke up, because he heard strange sounds. There was a storm outside. The wind was blowing and it was raining. Fuji didn't feel comfortable. He was scared. He looked around. It was completely dark in his room, so he moved the curtain a little. The light of the moon lit his room a little. He searched for Tezuka, but Tezuka wasn't there anymore.

The little Seer jumped out of his bed and opened the door, but Tezuka wasn't there either. It was completely dark in the hall way except for a single candle somewhere half way. Fuji ran and ran. He stumbled and fell on his knees, but he quickly got up again. There were tears in his eyes. Not because his knees hurt, but because he was scared. He was so scared!

He managed to find the stairs and ran down. He searched for the door. It seemed to take ages before he found it, but then he could finally go outside. He ran over the square, but by now clouds were covering the moon and it was completely dark. All doors looked alike and he didn't know which building was which. The wind was blowing and Fuji shivered in the soaked light shirt he was wearing for the night.

He walked past all the doors, but there was no light anywhere. Everyone was asleep. He knocked on a door, not knowing which door, but there was no answer. He walked to the next building and then he recognized the door. It was the door of the school! The building next to it was the place where they boys and girls were sleeping.

With new energy Fuji ran to the next door and desperately knocked on it. Nobody opened the door. The wind was blowing too hard for anyone to hear his knocks or shouts. Crying he walked to the window. Maybe if he knocked there someone would hear it. But he was too short. He couldn't reach the high windows. Crying Fuji sat down on the dirty ground. He cried for his mother and he cried for Tezuka, but neither of them came to help him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **4/26 (probably)  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1075 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 4 **

The next morning Tezuka was once again up before anyone else. After the usual morning ritual he went to the castle to wake Fuji. He didn't really want to, but it felt like one of his tasks. He was sure Fuji wouldn't be able to wake up in time on his own, but since his father had told him to take care of him he couldn't just leave him be. He was still so small and he didn't know anything of this place.

But when Tezuka was about to enter the castle, he noticed the door was open. It was strange. On rainy days like this the door was always closed. He just closed the door behind him and went upstairs. He walked through the hall way, but from afar he already noticed the door to Fuji's room was open as well. He ran towards the room and looked inside. It was empty. There was nobody. Tezuka ran back to the stairs and over the square. He wanted to talk to Ryuuzaki-sensei and ask if she had already seen him, but then he found the boy. He was lying beneath the window of the boy's room. He was covered in mud and he was breathing really slow.

'Ryuuzaki-sensei!' Tezuka shouted. He frantically knocked on the door of the small building next to the one where they children spend their nights. Within seconds the door was opened.

'Fuji-kun….!' said Tezuka. He pointed to the place where the kid was lying. 'He is…'

Tezuka didn't have to finish his sentence. The teacher had already rushed towards the boy and had lifted him up.

'Tezuka-kun, prepare the bed in the extra room!' Between the boy's and the girls room there were a few rooms where the kids could sleep in case they were ill. That way the other kids wouldn't get ill as well and the sick kids could sleep as much as they needed.

Tezuka opened the door to the extra room and quickly prepared it. Meanwhile Ryuuzaki-sensei was shouting orders to the other kids. Some had to get warm water, one had to make a fire in the extra bedroom and others had to get the doctor that stayed at the castle. She took the dirty nightclothes of Fuji's body and washed him with the warm water. It was difficult, because the little boy was unconscious.

Tezuka watched how his teacher dried Fuji with a towel before she put him in bed and poked the fire to make it warmer. He had never seen her so worried before. She always said things would be fine, but now she was really serious and quiet.

'Is Fuji going to die?' asked Tezuka worried.

'I don't know,' said Ryuuzaki-sensei. 'I don't know how long he has been outside, but his body is really cold while he has a very high fever. We will have to wait for the doctor and see what he can tell us. Do you know why Fuji was outside?'

Tezuka shook his head. 'I think he was scared. He didn't like to be alone in his room and he made me stay until he was asleep. Maybe he was scared because of the storm last night.'

The doctor soon arrived and confirmed what Ryuuzaki-sensei had said. Fuji had a very high fever and his body was still really cold, but with the fire and the blankets he was warming up already. Once his temperature would be fine again they could try to get his fever down. The doctor gave them some herbs that they should give the little boy. It would help to get his fever down quicker.

'When he wakes up you should give him chicken soup with some more herbs, then he'll be back on his feet again in no time.'

'He is not going to die?' asked Tezuka. He had no permission to speak to an important person as the King's personal doctor, but he wanted to know.

'He'll be fine,' said the doctor. 'It might take a while, but he will get over this.'

'Thank goodness, the King would have killed me if something would have happened to him,' sighed Ryuuzaki-sensei relieved. 'If his precious future- viewer would be gone the second day after his arrival he would definitely blame me for it. Tezuka-kun, are there any empty beds in the boy's room.'

'Yes two, sensei.'

'I want you to prepare one of them tonight. It's better if Fuji-kun will sleep here until he is old enough to have his own room at the castle. Someone will hear him if he is scared and he won't stay out all night in the rain again.'

'I will, sensei,' answered Tezuka politely.

'Good. Now hurry or you'll miss breakfast.'

Tezuka hurried to the kitchen to get some food. He was glad Fuji would get to sleep in the boy's room. That way he could keep an eye on him and he wouldn't have to go to the castle to wake him.

It took two days before Fuji woke up and one and a half week before he was fully recovered. In the meantime his friends came to visit him every day. They told him he could have a bed in their room and how much fun it would be. Ryuuzaki-sensei visited him too and warned him to never do something like that again. Fuji promised her, but only because he was promised a bed in the room with his friends.

Tezuka only visited him once, because Saeki had told him Fuji missed him. Fuji had been asleep when Tezuka had entered the room, but he had left a book on the nightstand and Fuji knew exactly who it was from when he found it. From that day it was his favorite book. It had a lot of pictures and Fuji could barely read the words, but he loved it anyway.

When the Seer had gotten better he went to Tezuka to return the book.

'Thank you for letting me read your book,' said Fuji with a bright smile as he handed his friend his book.

'You like it?' asked Tezuka.

'I couldn't read all of it, but it has really nice pictures!'

'Do you want me to read it for you, before dinner?'

Fuji opened his eyes and nodded eagerly. 'Yes, I would like that!'

'I'll help you then, so you can read it by yourself as much as you want.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **5  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1096 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

Fuji got used to the life he lived at the castle. He enjoyed his time at school with his friends a lot. He never really played with other kids before. Sometimes he cried about his family

, especially when he was in pain or when he saw other kids with their families, but his friends would comfort him. He cried less and less about it and felt more at home every day.

He had been at the castle for months when King Atobe first asked him for help. He had heard that the boy had a hard time to get used to his new life and his councilor had advised him to leave him alone for a while, but now he had a question that only Fuji could answer for him.

The young Seer put his special outfit on. The tailor had made him some sort of costume that made him look more mysterious. It was white with blue light blue stones at the end of his sleeves and at the hooded cape. He walked carefully on his white shoes, he didn't want to make them dirty.

Fuji followed one of the servants that had come to get him, because he didn't know the way in the castle yet. Tezuka had tried to explain it to him a few times, but he kept forgetting and he didn't want to get lost in the enormous building.

Shyly he entered the room where he had first seen the King. Everybody was looking at him, so Fuji tried to make himself tall and looked proud. It's what Tezuka had told him to do that, so he would be able to impress the people in the room. Fuji thought it worked, nobody laughed at him.

'You had asked for me, Your Majesty?' he asked King Atobe when he was a few meters away from the throne. That was also something Tezuka had told him to do. He knew nothing of the social rules of the 'important people', but Tezuka did, because one day he would have to take over his father's job.

'Yes,' answered the King with a friendly smile. 'We have a problem that only you can solve, because there are no witnesses. Tell me, Fuji, one of these guys stole food from the kitchen. Not just a piece of bread or an apple, no, my food for dinner was stolen a few times. Some very expensive things were gone. They are accusing each other of committing this crime, so we can't say who it was, but you can. Which of them was it?'

It was easy for Fuji to find out. He looked at the two guys. They were both wearing the same outfit. The outfit of a servant. They both worked for the King and one of them had betrayed the King's trust.

'It was him,' pointed Fuji to the man on the right.

'Are you sure?' asked the King.

'Yes,' said Fuji as he closed his eyes to concentrate. 'He took food from the kitchen a few times.

'I see, thank you very much,' smirked King Atobe. 'You have been very helpful. Guards, take that man away. Throw him out of the castle and make sure he will not ever get near the castle again.

'But my wife!' shouted the servant. 'Please let me talk to my wife first!'

'Why would I let you talk to her? You stole from me! You don't deserve any mercy. Don't worry, your wife is very beautiful. I will take good care of her. Now take him away, I don't want to see his face ever again!'

Fuji watched as the man was dragged out of the room.

'You can leave now, Fuji, thank you for your help.'

Fuji bowed, like he was supposed to do and then walked out of the room. The servant who had brought him in showed him the way back as well. When he reached the square he noticed a group of people. A woman was crying and others were trying to comfort here. The news travelled quick in the castle and the wife of the guilty servant had already heard about what happened. Fuji bit his lip. It was his fault that she was crying.

He quickly entered the boy's bedroom and changed into his normal clothes again. The other kids were still in class and Fuji knew he had to join them, but he didn't feel like it. He sat on his bed and looked out of the window. People were still talking and gave advice to the poor woman.

'She should just leave and go with her husband,' thought Fuji to himself.

But before the woman had time to dry her tears and gather her things she was picked up by the guards and brought into the castle. Fuji wondered if they would throw her out as well. At least the two of them could be together. It would make him feel less guilty if they could be together. But why wasn't the woman allowed to take anything with her? Well, all it mattered that they were together.

Fuji stood up and went to class. He was greeted by his teacher and class mates and listened carefully to everything that was said. He had already forgotten about the incident with the servant until the kids went outside to play together. The woman walked through the door of the castle. Her hair was tangled up, her clothes were ripped and there were bruises on her face. She had a hard time walking, but a few of the other women helped her.

'They hit her,' whispered Fuji. He frantically looked around until he found Tezuka.

'Nii-chan, they hit her! The King hit her! It's my fault!'

Tezuka didn't understand, but when Fuji started to explain Tezuka put his hand on Fuji's shoulder. 'It's not your fault. You have to listen to the King. If you don't, you will get a punishment worse than that of the servant. If you hadn't told the King who it was they would both have been punished and banned. You did the right thing.'

'But they hit his wife!' said Fuji, a tear rolling down his cheek.

'Yes, because her husband was a thief. It was not because of you, it was because of him. It's to show nobody should try to steal from the King, because he will find out.'

'It's not fair,' sniffed Fuji. 'I don't want to do this job.'

'No, it's not fun to work for the King, but we have no choice.'

* * *

Sorry for the long wait. I try to update every week, but I'm so busy that I forget. So let me know if I forget again! I don't mind


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **6  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1624 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 6 **

Fuji was almost seven. He had been at the castle for about two years and was completely used to his new life. He knew all the people who lived at the square and they all knew him. He knew all of their houses and he knew every single place in the school building. Fuji was a curious boy and wanted to know everything!

So when he knew all about the servants who lived outside, he planned to explore the castle. Yuuta followed him everywhere. He started with his own room. It was still his room, he could move in there whenever he wanted, but he preferred sleeping in the boy's room. The room hadn't changed since he had slept there the first night, except that his clothes were in the closet. He had more clothes than most of the other kids, because he had different outfits for when he had to appear in front of the king, so they didn't fit in the boy's room.

Fuji looked at the other rooms. He tried to open some of thedoors, but most of them were locked. One was open, but it was exactly the same as Fuji's own room. Bored Fuji closed the door again. He went to a different floor. The first floor was no option, because that was where guests of the King stayed and where they King's room was as well. If he was caught at that floor he would get thrown out of the castle.

Instead he went to the attic, Yuuta still following behind. There were only small stairs that lead to the attic, because it was hardly used. Fuji was really surprised by the things he found there. There were boxes filled with books and strange machines he had never seen before. It was rather dark, but the single window let enough light in for Fuji to see what was lying around there. He didn't know what kind of machines it were, but looking back into history he could see what they had been used for or where they still were used for. It wasn't dusty at all, which could mean the things up there were still used often.

He opened one of the boxes. It was filled with all kinds of books. Fuji thought he should tell Tezuka about it, he would definitely want to read those. He had already read all the books they had at school. Fuji searched through the books a little and found a few interesting ones. He wasn't sure if he should already take one for Tezuka. What if somebody would find out it was him who took it. They might think he had stolen it! No, he wouldn't take it, he would tell Tezuka about it later and maybe they could come here together one day.

'What are you doing here?' asked a voice suddenly. Fuji looked up at a man. He had only seen him a few times before. He didn't know who it was and he didn't know what to say.

'Oh, it's the Seer- kid,' said another voice. 'What are you doing here, boy?' It was asked more friendly this time.

'I…' stuttered Fuji. 'I was drawn to this room. I think something is here that called me and I was searching for it.'

In the few years of his life Fuji had found out that people didn't understand him and his ability. They thought he communicated with ghosts, that he could see auras or that he could feel it when something was wrong. In situations like this Fuji gladly helped to let them think that way, so he could escape punishment.

'I see,' said one of the men. 'Have you found what you were searching for then?'

'Not yet, I just started searching, but I think it might have something to do with those books. Do you think I can take one to make sure?'

'Yeah, if you want to,' said the man. 'Just make sure to put it back in the same box when you're done with it.'

'I will, but I might have to read the books to find out which one of them it is.'

'Fine as well, you can take them and read them, but make sure to put them back in the exact same place, alright? We'll be taking this machine to the kitchen, so continue searching if you want.'

Fuji nodded and thanked them. He took a book from one of the boxes and then watched what the two guys were doing. They weren't servants, because they didn't wear the uniform. With the book in his hands he followed them downstairs, all the way to the basement. He stopped when the men entered the kitchen.

'Want to come in?' asked the man who was broader and probably a lot stronger than the other.

'Can I?' asked Fuji. Without waiting for a reply he stepped into the kitchen and looked around. It was bigger than he thought it would be. From the outside it looked really small. It had to be big if they wanted to cook all the food for the big banquets King Atobe held every now and then.

'You are Fuji-kun, right?' asked one of the guys. Fuji nodded. 'I'm Kawamura Takashi, I'm one of the cooks. Nice to meet you.'

'I'm Ohtori Choutarou, I'm the other cook.'

'You cook all the food together?' asked Fuji. They had to make lots for King Atobe and the people who would dine with him, but also for all the servants and other people who worked at the castle.

'Yes, we have a few assistants, but we do most of the work ourselves,' said Ohtori. 'We're used to it, it's not that difficult to cook for many people if you know how to do so.'

'What's that machine for?' asked Fuji curiously. The men didn't seem to mind answering his questions. He had try to find answer about the machine in the future and in the history of the machine, but he didn't recognize the food that was made in it.

'It's for special snacks,' said Kawamura. 'The King has a few special guests and he wants a special sweet snack for them. If you put corn in this and you heat it something interesting happens. Want to see?'

Fuji had already seen it, but he said yes anyway. Ohtori made sure the machine was warm and Kawamura went to get some corn. He put a whole bag of corn into the machine and then they waited. Fuji thought it was more spectacular when he had seen the machine work with his ability, but after a minute or two it started. The corn started to pop and every time one of the grains popped it jumped up. Fuji laughed at the sound and the sight and the men laughed with him.

When all the corn had popped the turned off the heater and opened the machine. The smell was really good and Fuji hoped he would get to taste it. But Ohtori took the popped corn and put it in a bowl. He threw a little sugar over it and then mixed it. With a spoon he took a few and put them on a plate. He gave the plate to Fuji.

'Want to try some of them?'

Fuji took the plate and put one of the corns in his mouth. 'It doesn't taste like corn anymore!' he said surprised. He put another one in his mouth and tried again. It was nice, warm and sweet. While eating he watched how the two cooks put some more corn into the machine and threw salt over it this time. Fuji could try again.

'I like the salt one better,' the little Seer said.

'Really?' asked Kawamura. 'Most people like the sweet ones more. I like the sweet ones more.'

'Can I do something for you?' asked Fuji. 'To thank you for the food?'

'There is no need to,' answered Ohtori with a smile. He liked the little boy.

'Really?' asked Fuji. By now he had found out that almost everyone had questions about their future that they would like to have answered. Most of the times Fuji didn't answer them. He knew the future could be disappointing, but he wanted to do something in return for the cooks.

'Well…' started Kawamura shyly. 'There is something I would like to know.'

Fuji smiled brightly. 'What is it?'

'Will I find myself a cute wife?' The cheeks of the cook turned red and he looked at the floor.

'It's difficult to answer,' said Fuji. 'I can see different futures for you, depending on the choices you will make, but in most of those futures I see a woman.'

Kawamura seemed relieved. 'Who is it? What does she look like?'

'I don't know her,' said Fuji. 'And in some futures it's another woman than in other futures, but I can see they really like you.'

'What about me?' asked Ohtori. The two guys were still young, but hardly left the kitchen, so they hardly met any girls.

Fuji nodded. 'I can see you with a woman as well, but it will take a long time. Kawamura-san will find a wife first.'

'But I will have a wife, right?' asked the tall cook.

'Yes, you will,' smiled Fuji.

'Thank you so much! Here, take some more of the salt ones,' said Ohtori. He put some more of the popped corn in Fuji's hands. 'Come back whenever you want and don't forget to put the book back in place, alright?'

Fuji promised and left the kitchen while chewing on his popped corn. He hoped Tezuka would like the books. Maybe he would want some popped corn as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **7  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **722 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Fuji was once again summoned by King Atobe. He pulled on his special Seer outfit. Every time he grew 0ut of it he got a new one, but they were all exactly the same. The tailor didn't like it. He wanted to make something different, but orders were orders.

So Fuji walked to the room where the King was waiting for him, trying not to trip over the cloak he was wearing. He had to enter the room with a serene atmosphere around him. The King liked that, it made the Seer more mysterious and that made people scared. Like Fuji didn't just tell them their future, but was also the one who would be able to change their future in a bad way.

The double doors to the salon were opened by two guards. Fuji thanked them before he walked into the room. King Atobe was sitting in a huge, but very relaxing chair. There was a man sitting in a bit smaller chair on his right side, with a servant standing behind him. In front of them was a woman in a beautiful dress. Within moments Fuji knew all about those people.

Tezuka Kuniharu was there too. Fuji always felt more comfortable when that man was around. Seeing the older version of his best friends face gave him more confidence. He knew the man would help him whenever he didn't know what to do anymore.

'You asked for me, Your Majesty?' asked Fuji.

'Yes, we have a question for you,' said the King. 'You probably already know, but this is Earl Yagyuu. Not only do we work together to make this country a better place to live, but he is also a personal friend. This lovely creature is his wife. We would all want a beauty like that, wouldn't we?'

'She is very beautiful,' answered Fuji and he bowed slightly to the woman. With his eight years he didn't know much about the beauty of women, girls were annoying, but he did learn to always agree with whatever the King said.

'Yes, that is what Mr. Servant here thought as well. He was caught when he was admiring her beauty from up close. It was Earl Yagyuu himself who caught them, but we always need two witnesses to actually able to say he is guilty. You can be that other witness. So look into their history and tell us if this servant cheated on his boss.'

Fuji was a little scared. Reading their history was no problem, but he didn't know what he was looking for. What did the King meant when he said he cheated? He cheated when they played hide and seek and he cheated in class, by finding the answers in the future or the past, but that wasn't something that happened with this servant, nor with the wife of the earl.

'Can you see if they shared a bed together?' asked Tezuka.

Fuji searched through their history again and indeed found them in bed together. They were making strange sounds. Was that a part of the cheating?

'Yes,' he answered. 'They shared a bed together.'

'We have two witnesses then!' said King Atobe happy. Earl Yagyuu had an evil smirk on his face. Fuji knew he had made people suffer again. He knew it would be his fault again.

'You lowly servant, who do you think you are? Your punishment will be death for the sins you committed!' said the King. He seemed to enjoy it. 'And you, woman, if your husband wants you back, you are a lucky woman, but if he doesn't want you back, you will be banned from his land and you will lose your nobility.'

'I do not want her back,' said the Earl. 'I'll marry a woman who does appreciate what I give her.'

'Wise words my friend, wise words!' said the King. 'Take them both away and punish them!'

Fuji took it as a sign that his job was done. He looked at Tezuka's father, who nodded at him. Fuji nodded back to thank him for his help. Then he quickly walked out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **8  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **956 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 8 **

'Nii-chan, I'm bored! What are you doing?' whined Fuji.

'I'm reading,' answered Tezuka simply.

'I can see that, but what are you reading?'

'Law books.'

'That is the most boring thing ever,' sighed Fuji. He read a few lines over Tezuka's shoulder to see what it was about. 'Why are you reading law books?'

'I will have to become the King's advisor one day. I have to know the law, so I can help him in the best way possible. I cannot advise him to do things that are against the law.'

'Booooooring!' said Fuji. 'You still have plenty of time for that! Play with me!'

'Why don't you play with Kikumaru or Saeki,' sighed Tezuka.

'I can't, they're making their homework,' sighed Fuji as he sat down next to his friend. He took Yuuta on his lap and stroked his fur. The cat purred. He loved the attention of the little boy.

'And you have already finished your homework?' Tezuka asked, still not looking up from his book.

'Of course, I wouldn't be here if I didn't. It's easy. I don't understand why they take so long.'

'Because you can cheat and they can't.'

Fuji thought about that for a few minutes. Tezuka used the silence to read a little more in his book. He turned the page and wanted to start at the next chapter when the Seer spoke again.

'Is it cheating too if you are in bed with somebody else's wife?' he asked.

Tezuka's cheeks became red. He tried to hide with his book, not sure what to answer. He was eleven years old and he already knew a thing or two. He had asked his father about things after he had read about them in one of his law books. It seemed there were a lot of laws about it.

'Yes,' he answered shortly.

'But I don't understand!' sighed Fuji again. 'Why is sleeping in the same bed cheating? I've slept in your bed and in Eiji's bed and in Saeki's bed too. Was I cheating too then?'

'You don't have a wife,' said Tezuka.

'So if you have a wife and someone else sleeps in bed with her or you sleep in the same bed as someone else it's cheating?'

Tezuka put his book down. 'No, just sleeping is fine. You can sleep in the same bed as your friends. You just can't do anything else with each other.'

Fuji opened his eyes. 'But what else do you do in bed than sleeping. It doesn't make sense.'

'I don't know exactly either,' answered Tezuka. 'My father called it 'making love' and only a husband and a wife are allowed to do that. It's against the law to do it with somebody else once you're married.'

'So before you're married it's allowed, but after you're married it's cheating?' asked Fuji.

'Yes,' answered Tezuka. 'That's all I know.'

'I see,' muttered Fuji. He thought about it for a little. Then he noticed Tezuka had closed his book. 'Shall we play now?'

Tezuka sighed and he put his book away. 'Alright. Do you want to learn how to play 'Go'?'

'Is that the game you always play with your father?' asked Fuji. When Tezuka nodded Fuji smiled brightly. 'I'd love to!'

They went to get the game from the boy's room and sat down somewhere quiet, so Tezuka could explain the rules. Fuji understood quickly and he soon was playing against Tezuka.

'You're cheating,' said Tezuka. He knew Fuji was cheating, nobody could be that good at the game when he played for the first time. Fuji was a genius in many ways, but this was impossible.

'But nii-chan, how can I cheat when I'm not married yet? You're a bad loser!'

Fuji was joking, but he did play fair after that. It was a difficult game, but it became more interested once he stopped searching in the future what Tezuka's next step would be. Trying to predict what Tezuka would do without reading the future was a lot harder. Tezuka didn't show any expression, so Fuji wasn't sure what he was thinking. It was always easy to find out what Eiji or Saeki were thinking about, even without his ability.

'Ne, I think 'making love' is done naked,' said Fuji suddenly as he made a move in the game.

At that moment Tezuka's expression was very easy to read. His eyes widened and his cheeks became bright red once again. He looked down at the game and made a move as well. He wasn't concentrating on the game anymore and Fuji could score a point, a smile on his face when he did so.

'Have you seen it?' asked Tezuka. He didn't really want to know, but somehow he felt like he had to know. He was the older one, he should know more than Fuji!

'Yes, I could see the wife of the Earl and that servant were naked and they were making weird sounds. It was really strange. I don't understand what they were doing, they didn't seem to like it. It sounded like it hurt. I'm never going to do something like that when I've grown up.'

'Me neither,' answered Tezuka as he scored a point back. 'Why would you do something that hurts?'

'Mou, nii-chan, you're too good at this game!' Fuji tried to figure out what to do next to win the game, but it seemed impossible. 'I would never sleep in the same bed as a girl. Girls are annoying.'

Tezuka agreed with him and with that they made a promise they would never do something stupid like the wife of the Earl and the stupid servant who was killed, because he hurt her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **9  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1517 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Fuji was summoned by the King more and more often. Most of the time he was used as a second witness to charge someone, but now and then King Atobe asked him for advice. Today was such a day. He had to get up earlier than the other kids, but when he arrived in the conference room all dukes and earls of the country were already there. They were all looking very serious, even the young King was looking serious. It almost scared Fuji.

He was given the last empty chair at the round table. It was round, so everyone would be equal, but the King had made his servants bring his 'throne' into the conference room, while the others were all sitting on simple chairs. Tezuka Kuniharu was there as well, but he had to stand next to the 'throne'. So much for equality.

Fuji sat down on the chair. There was a cushion on it, so he would sit a little higher. Even for his age, he was nine by now, he was small. He felt even smaller between all the tall and very important men around him.

'I called you all here together, because yesterday evening our Southern neighbors have invaded our country,' started the King. 'That is the reason why the Duke of the Southern area is not here today. They took over the biggest city, the one here the Duke lives as well, and closed all the gates. Nobody can go in or out. They are probably planning to take over the next city from there. The City of the South is rich, so they took all the food, money and weapons from the people who live there. Hundreds of soldiers took over the houses of the people who live there and took everything they owned. We have to find a solution to get them out of our country and save the people of the City of the South at the same time.'

'If the Duke was here he could tell us about the strengths and weaknesses of the city,' said Earl Yagyuu. It was the only person Fuji recognized.

'Yes, but he isn't here, because he can't get out of the city,' answered the King. 'Fuji, can you tell me what the enemy is planning to do next?'

'If we don't do anything, the biggest part of their troops will leave the city and go to the next city to take that as well,' said Fuji. 'New troops will come and help to conquer even more of our country. But if we do act up and try to get the city back a lot of soldiers will die and the enemy will kill the people from the city one by one, starting with the Duke and his family.'

'We cannot attack the city then,' said a red-haired man. 'It will take us a long time to take over the City of the South, we know how strong those gates are. If they will kill the citizens we will lose many people. But they also took all the food, so even more people will die from starvation. We cannot sacrifice the entire population of the city!'

'If we do not try to take it back they will take another city and we will have even more problems!' said a man with black hair and a scowl on his face. 'They will kill the people of two cities. If we sacrifice the people of the City of the South the rest of our country will be unharmed.

'There is a ninety-nine percent chance people from other cities and towns in the neighborhood will be affected as well if we attack them,' said a man with spiky black hair and glasses.

'There is a hundred percent chance people from other cities and towns will be affected if we let them be,' said another man with straight brown hair and closed eyes.

'Okay, so we have to do something,' sighed the King. 'But attacking isn't a solution, nor is doing nothing. But what _is_ a solution?!'

'We wait until the seven days are over,' said a man with dark blond hair. His left arm was wrapped in bandages. 'We hide our troops next to the road and once they start their march to the next city we attack them. Part of our troops should enter the city and take down the soldiers who stay there, while other parts will down the rest of their men.'

'People in the city will die. They can live without food for seven days, but not without water. The older people will surely not survive, nor will the kids and the sick people. It might be a small sacrifice compared to the death of an entire city, but the citizens of the City of the South have to go through so much already. We should keep the number of deaths to the minimum.' It was the redhead that had spoken again.

'There is no way we can bring them food or water without the enemy finding out,' said the scowling man. 'Our enemy will once again take the water and the food and nothing will change.'

'Every city has his own secret escaping route,' said the blond man. 'We just have to find the entrance to that.'

'In seven days?' asked the scowling man. 'People will have died before we found it. Only the Duke of the South knows where they are.'

'Then he should use it to come here,' said the redhead.

'An eighty percent chance he won't leave his people,' said the bespectacled man.

'A ninety percent chance they are keeping him hostage so he can't go anywhere,' said the man with the closed eyes. 'Not a chance he will be able to get here.'

'There are tunnels,' said Fuji suddenly. All the men were looking at him and he thought he had done something wrong. He had spoken when nobody had asked him to.

'Where?' asked the King, not angry at all, just eager to know.

'I don't know how to explain,' said Fuji a little shy.

Tezuka pulled a map from wall and put it on the table. He pointed to a city at the Southern part of the map. All men gathered around them. Tezuka stepped back, giving them space.

'That is the City of the South,' said the scowling man. 'I have been there often, so tell me where you see those tunnels.'

'In the woods,' said Fuji. 'There are a lot of trees and somewhere in the middle are huge rocks in a circle. In the middle of that circle is a hatch. If you open it there are stairs and tunnels that will lead to four different parts of the city. The first ends in an empty mill, the second in a very big house, the third in the basement of a bakery and the last one ends under a bridge.'

'I know that place,' said the scowling man. 'A lot of people think it's a sacred place. They would never climb over the rocks to see if something is inside that circle. It's the perfect place to hide a hatch. We can't use the second tunnel though, it will end up in the house of the Duke.'

'The one under the bridge might be dangerous too,' said the redhead. 'If soldier will see you coming out of such a place they will definitely try to find out where you came from.'

'But we can use that one at night and the other two during the day as well,' said King Atobe. 'Will we succeed in that, Fuji?'

'Yes,' answered Fuji. 'If you dress like the people who live there you can get in unnoticed, but don't bring too many people at the same time and hide the food and water carefully. Women should go, the soldiers won't suspect them as easy as men.'

'We should bring soldiers through that tunnel on the seventh day,' said the blond man. 'Once the gates are closed again there won't be much soldiers left there. While we attack the ones who travel to the next city, we can take the ones in the city down by bringing a troop of soldiers through the tunnel. Would that work?'

Fuji nodded. 'But they have to attack before the ones who are waiting outside will attack. The enemy troops will be confused when they hear the sounds of fighting from the city and at that moments the soldiers that were hidden in the woods have to attack.

'Which tunnels do we have to use for that?' asked the redhead.

'All four of them, but send the most men through the second tunnel,' answered Fuji. 'Most of the enemy soldiers are using the house of the Duke and live there until they get new commands.'

'So it will be,' said King Atobe.

'Thank you very much,' said the scowling man. He looked less angry by now. 'Let's prepare the food and water and the people who will have to bring it to the City of the South.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **10  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **963 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 10**

It was Tezuka's birthday and normally birthdays were a happy occasion, but Tezuka disliked his birthday very much. He didn't like all the attention at all. This year it was worse. This year he turned twelve, which meant he was old enough to live in the castle and learn how to be a good advisor for the King. This was the year he was going to leave the boy's room.

It wasn't that Tezuka minded leaving the boy's room, but the younger boys seemed to mind. They never had trouble letting others go when they became twelve, they could still see each other now and then, so he wondered why they made something so big of his leaving.

Being the future advisor of the King he found out pretty soon what the problem was. Everyone was in on his seat in the classroom, except for Fuji.

'Where is Fuji-kun?' asked Ryuuzaki-sensei.

'He was already out of bed when we got out of bed,' said Saeki.

'Tezuka-kun, could you please search for him?' asked their teacher. 'I know this is your last day here, but you're still class president.'

Tezuka nodded and got up from his chair. He went to the boy's room first, but Fuji wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere outside on the square either, nor was he in his room at the castle. Tezuka wanted to walk down the stairs again to tell their sensei he couldn't find the Seer, but then he noticed the smaller stairs to the attic. He had heard Fuji talking about it now and then, but he had never joined the younger boy when he went to the attic.

Tezuka climbed the stairs and looked around when he reached the next floor. There was Fuji, sitting in a corner of the attic with a pile of books next to him. He was so focused he didn't even notice Tezuka.

'Fuji, what are you doing?' asked the older boy.

The Seer looked up in surprise. 'Tezuka!' he said. 'Why are you here?'

'I'm here to get you. Classes have started. You're late.'

'I know,' sighed the ten year old boy. 'But I wanted to find you a present, but I didn't know what to give you, so I woke up early to think of something. It was noisy in the boy's room, so I came here and thought you might like one of these books, but I don't know which one I should give you.'

'Those books aren't yours, right?' asked Tezuka.

'No, but nobody ever reads them. I looked in the future and I can't see anyone reading them as long as I will live, except for you. I also searched through their history and they haven't been read for ages.'

'That still doesn't mean you can give them to me,' answered Tezuka strictly.

'You're no fun,' sighed Fuji. 'I don't know what else I could give you. I have no money, so I can't buy you anything at all. It's your special birthday, because you're going to leave us and live at the castle all the time. I wanted to make it special.' Tears welled up in Fuji's eyes.

'Everyone is giving me books,' said Tezuka. 'My parents gave me books and sensei gave me a book as well. Why don't you tell me if I will become a good advisor for the King? That is something only you can tell me.'

'You never wanted me to tell you about the future,' said Fuji.

'No, I never wanted to know, but today is a special day, right?' Tezuka sat down next to his younger friend.

'I can see the King will make good decisions when you advise him,' said Fuji as he wiped his tears. 'In most of your futures. He won't really praise you for it, but the King never praises anyone but himself.'

Tezuka smiled. That was true, the King never thought very highly of other people, no matter how good they helped him or did their jobs. He loved himself much more than any of the people around him.

'He won't send me away?' Tezuka asked.

'No, he won't. The King knows you're very useful to him, so you are allowed to stay, even if you tell him things he doesn't really like.'

'I'm glad to hear that,' answered Tezuka.

'Is there anything else you want to know?' asked Fuji, not satisfied with this simple present. He wanted to give Tezuka something more on this special day.

'Do you want to become class president?' Tezuka asked suddenly.

'No,' answered the Seer. 'You shouldn't change your mind. Saeki will be a very good class president.'

'You knew?' asked the older boy surprised.

'Of course,' grinned Fuji. 'I wanted to know if you would pick me. I don't think I would be a very good class president.'

'I think you would, but I'll pick Saeki-kun.'

They sat together in silence for a while before Tezuka spoke again.

'Not much is going to change. I won't be sleeping in the boy's room anymore and I won't be in class, but we can still eat together in the evenings. And after dinner I don't have anything to do, so then we can spend time together.'

'And in two years I will come to the castle as well and we can see each other often again.'

'We'll both have to be at the King's meetings,' answered Tezuka. 'Maybe in the meantime we can meet here again sometimes. It's nice and quiet here.'

Fuji smiled. 'I'd like that. You can switch your own books then. I'm sure they don't mind if you read them. If I have permission to read them I'm sure you would get permission too.'

'Thank you,' said Tezuka. 'Let's go back to class.'


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **11  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **796 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Fuji was watching the wall that surrounded the little village he lived in. The village inside the walls of the castle. He held his hand against it while he looked at the sky. Yuuta was walking around his feet, asking for attention, but not getting any.

'What are you doing?' someone asked. 'Something there?'

Fuji looked up. Eiji was standing beside him, looking at the sky as well.

'Nothing,' answered Fuji as he looked at his friend. 'I was thinking about the world outside the walls. It's been such a long time since I have been there that I hardly remember what it is like. I'm here for six years already.'

'You have seen more of the world outside the walls than I have!' said the redhead a little jealous. 'I have never been out of this village. I only get into the castle for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so I only see the kitchen and the dining area. This little village is all I have ever seen.'

'It's not that much different from the life outside of the castle walls,' said Fuji. 'As far as I remember. Sometimes I try to see what is happening on the other side of the wall, but I can't remember the streets well enough to get a good view of what is going on there. I can see what is happening at the village where my family lives, but I don't really want to know.'

'Why not? Don't you want to know how your family is doing?' asked Eiji curiously.

'Not really,' answered Fuji. 'I don't want to know if hey mind that I'm gone. I hope they're happy and have forgotten about me, but at the same time I want them to be sad that they will never see me again. If I see them sad I would feel sad as well, because I want them to be happy. But if they're happy I might feel sad as well, because they don't really miss me anymore. I don't really want them to forget about me.'

'I'm sure they won't forget you. Remember my oldest sister? She left four years ago to marry a man who lived in the city. My family is happy, but we still miss her a lot!' said the redhead.

'I'm sure she would feel happy if she heard that,' smiled Fuji. 'Maybe if I could ever leave this place I will go and see how they are doing. Then I will know if they still remember me and if they still think about me.'

Fuji picked up the cat that was still trying to get his attention. 'Until then it will be just Yuuta and me.'

'You miss Tezuka, ne?' asked Eiji. Tezuka had been living in the castle for almost half a year now and Fuji ate dinner with him almost every evening, but other than that they hardly saw each other. But not just that, Saeki had left their class as well when he turned twelve.

'Yes, I can't wait until I turn twelve. Just one more year, then I can start living in the castle again.'

'I know how you feel,' said Eiji. 'Remember the boy who left a little after Tezuka did, Oishi Shuichiroh? The last few months I talked with him a lot and he was a really nice guy. I feel a little sad that he had to leave at the time we were becoming friends and now I never really see him again.'

'Oh, has my little Eiji finally fallen in love?' joked Fuji. The redhead blushed and his cheeks turned almost the same color as his hair.

Fuji laughed. 'Just kidding, just kidding. But have you told him? I never see you eat with him. It's one of the only times you can see him. Oishi-senpai is really busy with his training to become the King's personal butler. He has to work every day and sometimes in the evening as well, so you should make sure you can have dinner together.'

'How, I don't know when he will have dinner,' sighed Eiji.

'Go to the dining area early and wait until he arrives. He might be with his father, but you can ask him if you can sit with them, right? And when you're both done ask him if you can sit with him more often.'

'I will do that!' shouted Eiji happily. 'Thank you so much Fujiko! But I have to go now, dinner time will start in a few minutes and I don't want to be late!'

Fuji waved as he friend ran towards the castle. When he was out of sight Fuji turned around, traced the stones of the wall with his finger before he looked up at the sky again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **12  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1358 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Fuji's twelfth birthday was a happy event. All the kids in class liked him, so they all brought him a little present, since he had no family who could give him something. Fuji had to go to the tailor first thing in the morning to get his work outfits ready. Because of that he was the last one to arrive in class and was happily surprised to see his chair and desk were decorated by his friends.

Proudly the Seer sat down on his chair. This was something he had not foreseen and he really loved the surprise. He thanked all the others for the presents they gave him and he carefully opened them all.

Classes were almost the same as every day, except for the fact that Ryuuzaki-sensei gave Fuji a little more attention. At the end of their classes Fuji told all of his classmates something they wanted to know about their future. It weren't big things, but the happy smiles when he told them what kind of good things would happen always made Fuji feel happy as well.

'Ryuuzaki-sensei, do you want me to tell me something about your future too?' he asked when he had helped all the kids.

'I can predict my own future,' she said with a smile. 'I will work here and teach many, many more kids the same things I have learned to you.'

Fuji smiled. 'Yes, I can see you teaching in all the futures you could have, but you're always smiling, so I guess you don't mind, ne sensei? But there is more. In almost all those futures he will find out.'

The eyes of the teacher widened. 'What are you talking about?' she asked.

'You know what I'm talking about,' answered Fuji. He didn't really dare to look at her, but forced himself to do so. 'He will find out.'

'I see,' she answered. 'Thank you.'

'I'll be going now,' said Fuji. He gave her a small smile before he turned around and walked out of the classroom. As he passed his desk and chair he touched them once more before he walked out. He would really miss this place. He had started to love it in those seven years he had been there. But now that he would start to live in the castle and learn how to be a better Seer and he would get to see Tezuka and Saeki more often again.

With his arms filled with presents Fuji walked to the castle. All his other things were already waiting for him in his room at the end of the hall way on the second floor. He entered his room and put the little presents down. It made his room have something personal and he felt much more at home then when he had been five years old.

Fuji looked out of the window and watched the people who walked over the square to their houses or to the dining area. He had walked there himself so often, but he wouldn't spend much time there anymore from now on.

He woke up from his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it he found Tezuka standing there.

'Happy birthday,' said Tezuka. He handed Fuji a book. It wasn't a book from the attic and it wasn't a book from Tezuka's personal collection. He, or his father, had bought this specially for him.

'Thank you so much, nii-chan!' said Fuji happy. He hugged Tezuka before letting him into his room.

'You shouldn't call me that anymore,' said Tezuka.

'Why not?' asked Fuji. 'I like it!'

'We're going to meet at the King's meetings. You can't call me nii-chan there,' reasoned Tezuka.

'I guess you're right,' sighed Fuji. 'You're always right. I'll call you Tezuka then, do you mind?'

Tezuka shook his head. They spend the rest of the evening talking about all kind of things that Fuji would have to do now that he was officially 'training to become a Seer'. When it started to get late Tezuka left and Fuji went to bed.

The next morning he had to wake early. Before he had to go to his first meeting with the King he had to go to the tailor again. He quickly got himself dressed before he left the castle. The Seer was surprised to see that his first outfit was done already.

'I enjoy making your outfits,' said the tailor with a smile. 'More interesting than all those boring outfits of the servants or those flashy ones of the King. Would you like it if I give all outfits a different pattern? The King doesn't allow me to use other colors than white and blue, but I can still make them all different!'

'I would like that,' said Fuji. He didn't like wearing the same every single day, like the servants and even Tezuka had to do. His friend always wore a dark suit, but different from the suit of the butler.

'Could you make me a casual outfit too?' asked Fuji. 'It seems I'm growing again.'

'Good for you,' said the tailor. 'It's been a while since you grew out of your clothes! I'll make you something and I won't use blue or white for it. That would get boring, don't you think?'

'Thank you very much,' said Fuji. He took the finished outfit and went back to his room. He put the clothes on, combed his hair and went to get some breakfast. He was late, because he had to get his clothes from the tailor. Tezuka was already there and he was already eating.

'You're late,' he stated.

'I know,' smiled Fuji. 'I had to get my new outfit from the tailor. But I brought my cloak with me, so when I'm done with breakfast I can put it on and go straight to the meeting with the King.'

'They made a place for you at the round table. All the Dukes and Earls seem to trust you after you prevented that war from taking place.'

'I didn't help them much,' said Fuji. 'They did most things themselves. I only told them what I saw. I couldn't have done that without them either.'

'That is what they expect of you,' said Tezuka. 'You should be proud, it's hard to get a place at the round table.' He took another bit from his breakfast.

'I will be proud then,' answered Fuji. They finished their food and walked to the meeting room together. Today the most important people of the country would gather once again, but this time not to talk about things like war, but about more simple things, as how to arrange the collecting of the taxes without problems. For King Atobe the real important question was if the taxes could be raised, but he never told that to the Dukes and Earls.

Fuji got seriously bored that first day. They hardly asked him anything and he didn't know much about taxes. He didn't have to pay them, nobody at the castle had to do that, but since he worked for his food and a room at the castle, he never had gotten any money in the first place. The families got some money every month, so they could get things they needed for their children, but Fuji had never gotten anything.

Instead of joining the conversation Fuji watched Tezuka. He stood next to his father and was obliviously paying attention to every word that was said. He had to learn, so he could advise the King about these kind of things in the future.

During their dinner Tezuka and Fuji went to the attic and Tezuka explained everything Fuji didn't understand. From that they on they had such study sessions almost every day. Whenever Fuji didn't understand it Tezuka would explain it. Now and then Tezuka wondered if the Seer really didn't understand. He could see more than anybody else and that way he could also figure out much more, but Fuji always insisted Tezuka would explain everything to him. But the future adviser didn't mind, he liked spending time together.

* * *

Kind of a weird ending. Don't blame me, blame NaNoWriMo


	13. Chapter 13

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **13  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst\  
**Word count: **2207 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 13**

The King found out that Fuji didn't have to join all meetings. He didn't have to say much and they didn't need his help too often, so he let Fuji do whatever he wanted. He often helped the servants with things they wanted to know or had to do. But one day Tezuka came to get him for something important, something only Fuji could help with, even though Tezuka's father seemed to be against it.

'Fuji come in,' said the King. He was once again sitting on his throne, a goofy smile on his face. 'Today you and I are going to do something really special. See all those ladies over there? One of them will become my bride and you will help me pick which one it will be.'

The Seer was only thirteen years old and he wasn't interested in women at all. He didn't know what a perfect bride had to be like, so he hoped the King would ask him questions he could actually answer.

'These women are all nobilities, so that won't be a problem. In that way they're all suitable to become my wife. They're all very beautiful as well, so we're going to take a look at their personalities. Sit here next to me.'

Fuji sat down on the chair next to the King. Tezuka's father was standing half behind them, so he could whisper in the King's ear, and Tezuka was standing behind Fuji's chair. It made Fuji feel a little more comfortable. If he didn't know what to do or say they might help him.

King Atobe beckoned the first woman to walk his way. She did so and tried to be as beautiful and sensual as she could be. When she stood in front of the King she bowed and complimented him on his looks. It was something that worked on a person who loved himself as much as the King did, because he made Tezuka Kuniharu write a plus sign on a piece of paper.

'Tell me about yourself. Tell me about your good parts, your bad parts, your naughty parts if you have them. And Fuji, tell me when they are lying. I want my future wife to speak the truth.'

'Yes, Your Majesty,' Fuji answered and he listened carefully to the story the girl told them. She talked about how smart she was, because she had the best tutor in the country, but that she could also be a little clumsy now and then. Only when she said she wasn't wearing any underwear dress the King seemed to become interested.

'You can see it when I wear tight dresses like this and I think it's not sexy to see your underwear through your clothes, so I just left it at home.'

'Very smart,' said the King. 'Did your tutor teach you that?'

'No, my tutor didn't want me to wear this dress, he was absolutely against it, but I insisted, so I hope you like it, Your Majesty.'

Only one of the women had told her story and Fuji was already tired of the blabbering. He didn't understand why the King would pick his bride this way. He didn't get to know anything about them. Making things sound more beautiful than they actually were wasn't lying, so they didn't get to know much about their personalities in the end anyway.

'Next,' said King Atobe before he discussed some things with his advisor, who immediately wrote a few more things down.

'You look very mature,' said the King to the next girl. 'Are you still a virgin.'

'You're straight forward,' she answered. 'I like that in men. But don't worry, I'm still a virgin. I saved myself for you.'

'That's two lies,' said Fuji. Everyone looked surprised at him, waiting to continue. 'She doesn't like straight forward people, because she doesn't like to be criticized. She isn't a virgin anymore either.'

Those were things Fuji did not want to know about other people and things he did not want to see. But he knew he didn't have a choice right now.

'Was that first lady a virgin?' the King asked him. Fuji nodded. 'From now on tell me that about all of the girls. It's important. Why aren't you a virgin anymore?' he asked the girl.

She touched her cheek and looked at the floor. 'I thought the King would like it if I would be a bit experienced when I would share a bed with him. I wanted to learn how to make a man feel good, so I could use that during our wedding night.'

'Interesting, you can go now. Now that you girls know your lies will be exposed I expect the truth from all of you. Next one!'

The next girl seemed to be a little shy, the one after that was arrogant, another was a big flirt, she even flirted with Tezuka, who didn't show any reaction. There was also a very happy go lucky girl. She was more spontaneous than the others, her smile was honest and her stories were interesting. Most important, she was a virgin. The King seemed to like her, but he didn't say anything about it. He listened to all of the other women as well before they all went to have lunch together.

Lunch was not only to fill their stomachs, but also to see how they would act there. The way they would eat or speak to each other could tell a lot about them. The girls that had the most plusses sat the closest to the King, while the other ones sat further away. Servants weren't allowed to eat with nobility, so Fuji, Tezuka and Tezuka's father had to eat at a separate table. Not that the three of them minded. This way they had time to discuss the women with each other. They would have to advice the King about it later and it would be nice if they thought alike.

'The one with the brown hair that reaches her chin,' said Tezuka Kuniharu. 'I think she would be the best wife for the King. She will understand him and know how to deal with him. She is sophisticated and smart, so she would be a good Queen. I'm sure the people would like her.'

'She didn't do anything stupid when she was younger,' said Fuji. He had seen that one of the other girls had stolen jewelry, so she had been send home immediately. But this girl had never done anything to embarrass herself. 'She might do stupid things in the future, but that all depends on what the King will do. We don't have a say in that.'

'Then I think we should tell the King who our choice would be,' said Tezuka. Horrified he was looking how the girl next to King Atobe was showing her long, smooth legs and draped it all over the King's own legs. He didn't understand what the King liked about her, but she would be the worst Queen ever.

After lunch the King sat around the table with the three men. He was still going to spend the afternoon with the girls, but he already wanted to know what they thought about it.

'I like the one with the long, curly black hair, the one with the shorter brown hair and that redhead, she seems fierce,' said King Atobe.

'From all the girls we think Tachibana Ann, the girl with the shorter brown hair, will be the best choice, Your Majesty,' said Tezuka Kuniharu. 'Please pay attention to her in the afternoon.'

The King pulled a face and the three who had to help him didn't know if he thought of their advice as something positive or something negative. He seemed to like the more outgoing and sexy girls a little better, but he probably understood what they were trying to tell him.

Tezuka and Fuji left together and went outside while they waited for the King to be done. The weather was nice, so they sat against the wall and watched the little village they used to live in. Fuji sat on Tezuka's black jacket, so his white clothes wouldn't get dirty.

'I'm glad I don't have to find myself a partner that way,' said Fuji. 'The King doesn't get to know any of these women. They're beautiful nobilities, that's the only reason why they were chosen to be the future Queen. They don't have to be able to do anything as long as they look good.'

'Well, if you're the King you can chose any woman. He picked brainless ones, but at least he has a choice,' said Tezuka. 'The chance we will find a wife is really small. All the girls we meet are the girls who work there. That aren't that many girls here, only a few maids. If the right person isn't between them, we will probably never meet her.'

'I don't know if I want a 'her',' said Fuji. 'I think I like guys.'

'You're not sure?' Tezuka asked a little surprised.

'No, I actually saw myself with another guy in the future. We were making out, so I couldn't see his face, but it was definitely a guy. So I guess I will like guys better.'

'Probably not the nicest way to find out,' muttered Tezuka.

'No, I'd rather had fallen in love with a guy and found out that way. Have you ever been in love, Tezuka?'

'No, the girls here are either too loud or too obedient.'

'Oh, who would have thought you like rebellious girls?!' asked Fuji surprised. There was a big grin on his face. 'But what about a boy instead? The girls are obedient, but some of the guys can be rather rebellious!'

'I want a person who can think for herself,' answered Tezuka. 'I never really thought about living with another man.'

'But you don't seem to be grossed out by it,' said the Seer.

'No, not really. I just never thought about it. I never really thought about having relationship at all, not with a girl either.'

'Me neither, but when the King told me he needed my help with picking the perfect bride I started to think about it a little. I mean, how old is the King? How old are people when they get married? I have never been at a wedding.'

'The King is almost thirty,' answered Tezuka. 'He became King at a very young age, because his father passed away. It's a bit late for a King to get married at the age of thirty, but it's not really uncommon either.'

'We still have a lot of time then,' smiled Fuji. Together they watched the kids come out of the school. They played all kind of games together. Tezuka and Fuji knew some of the kids, the ones who had been in class with them, but they didn't know the younger ones.

'I feel old,' sighed Tezuka.

'You _are_ old,' laughed Fuji.

Tezuka frowned which made the seer laugh even harder. When he calmed down a little he spoke again.

'I didn't know anybody at the castle when I lived here and now I slowly get to know most of the people at the castle and I forget the ones that live here. It's like two separated worlds exist inside these walls.'

Tezuka had no time to answer, his father came to get the two of them. 'Boys, we have to get back now, things have been prepared. Everything is ready.'

They went back to the room where the King had first met the girls. They had written their advice for the King down and placed it on the table, close to where the throne stood. They also put their papers with the plusses and minuses down there. The three men sat down on their places and waited for the King to arrive. They didn't have to wait long. With a lot of noise the most important man of the country entered the room.

'Lovely ladies, please take your seat again,' he said as he sat down on his throne. He took a quick look at the papers that were in front of him and he nodded.

'I made my decision,' he said. 'You all know that might not be the final decision. I will get to know the chosen girl a bit better before I will really decide if she will be the one I want to marry.'

All the girls looked really nervous. It seemed like they all wanted to become the next Queen, but it was like they forgot the position of Queen came with a husband like King Atobe.

'The girl I would like to get to know better is…' started the King,'….Tachibana Ann!'

The girl with the brown hair that reached her chin made a surprised sound. She stood up and bowed for the King. She thanked him and wished they would get along fine. The King stood up and kissed her to congratulate her. He thanked the other ladies, who all had to leave now.

'He doesn't deserve her,' said Tezuka Kuniharu before he turned around and walked away. 'You two can leave now as well.'


	14. Chapter 14

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **14  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1058 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 14**

The King married three months after he had chosen his bride. He made her grow out her hair, because he preferred girls with long, beautiful hair, and he tried her out in bed, because he wanted to be pleasured at night. So she did what he asked and passed the last tests to become the next Queen.

Fuji didn't get to see anything of the wedding. He wasn't invited and his help wasn't needed, so he didn't get to be there or see anything of the wedding at all. He heard from the servants that it had been the most beautiful event ever. Everything had been decorated white and the bride and groom had looked wonderful themselves. Fuji didn't really care about it, he just hoped they would be happy together. He had used his day off to sleep in and to talk to the people he hadn't seen in a while.

But the Seer wasn't the only one who hadn't been able to enjoy the wedding. The harvest in the East of the country hadn't been too well for a few years already, but things were getting out of hand now. The East was the driest part of the county and because of the heat most of their grains had burned to ashes. Because of the royal wedding not much had been arranged to make sure the people in the East wouldn't stare, but now that the festivities were over the Earl went to the King to make sure something would be done for his people.

Fuji was also called to join the meeting. He greeted the King and the Earl. He had seen the man before. It was the black-haired man that was always scowling. He knew now the man was named Sanada Genichirou. Tezuka had learned him the names of all the Dukes and Earls.

'We have to do something, Your Majesty,' said Sanada. 'My people have little food left, they can live for another month, but when the winter will come they will die. Not just the young children and the old people will die, also the hard working men who pay taxes will die. We have to do something!'

'Where do you want to get food for so many people?' asked the King. He didn't seem to be interested in this conversation. He was looking bored and was drawing something on a piece of paper.

'There is plenty of food in the other parts of the country!' said Sanada frustrated. 'They all had a perfect harvest. They could share that food with us.'

'Fuji, is it true what he says?' asked King Atobe.

'It is, Your Majesty,' answered Fuji. 'If we don't do anything nine out of ten people will starve in the East, while the other parts of the country will have food left.'

'It will cost a lot of money to ship all that food to the East,' mused the King. He was frowning, but his pen didn't leave the paper. 'Cant the people of the East go and buy their food in the other parts of the country?'

'They don't have enough money for that, Your Majesty,' answered the Earl. 'Most families live from the food they grow on their land and earn money by selling little parts of that. They don't have food themselves, let alone something to sell.'

'Your Majesty,' said Fuji. 'With your permission I'd like to speak.' King Atobe told him to speak and Fuji stood up. 'If you don't do anything about this a fifth of the people of this country will die. Thousands of people won't see the next Spring. You will lose twenty percent of you tax money! The East will become a dessert and our neighbor country will invade and easily take over the Eastern part of our country from us. From there they will fight to get more land. We will fight back and we will prevent them from getting any further, but we won't be able to take the East back from them. Both armies will get weaker and lots of soldiers will find death in that war. The Southern neighbor country will take it's chance and invade as well. They will take our entire country and their King will personally kill you!'

King Atobe had been listening to the seer with wide open eyes. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. If nothing happened the fate of his country would be terrible.

'Alright, let every city send food to the East and make sure it will all be safely locked in barns. When the people of the East run out of food the food from the barns should be divided, so all of the people will get something to eat. Make sure the healthy, strong men will stay healthy and strong!'

'Thank you, Your Majesty,' said Sanada and he quickly gathered his men to make arrangements and get everything done. Tezuka Kuniharu joined him to help him with the shipping of the food. The King left the room to take a nap, but Fuji stayed behind and watched how they were arranging everything. It didn't take too long before they were done. Sanada had already prepared most things before he went to talk to the King. All he needed was his permission to help his people and after that he could send his men to the different parts of the country to gather food, making sure the people there would still have enough left themselves.

'Thank you very much, Seer,' said Sanada to Fuji when he was about to get back to the East. 'I don't think I could have convinced the King without your prediction. Would things really turn out that bad if we didn't gather food?'

Fuji smiled. 'No, I just made that up,' he answered. 'A few hundred people would die. Our King might not care about that, but for us that is too much. I know you wanted to save them all. The King needs good reasons before he will give permission, so I gave him good reason to help your people. I want them to live.'

The Earl was speechless. He bowed shortly and muttered something that sounded like another 'thank you' before he quickly walked out of the room, leaving a smiling Fuji behind. Nobody else would ever know the truth.


	15. Chapter 15

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **15  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **453 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

Short chap is short

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Tezuka woke up in the middle of the night. He never woke up at night, but he understood when he felt he had to pee. Lazily he got out of bed and went to the lavatories in the middle of the hall way. There was a single light, but other than the that it was completely dark. Without his glasses Tezuka could see even less. He almost jumped when a person appeared in the light, stepping out of the shadows. Fuji's grinning face could be pretty scary in the dark.

'What are you doing here?' Tezuka hissed.

'I had to pee,' answered the Seer. 'But I knew you were coming, so I waited a little. Even though I'm much older now than when I first got here, I still don't like the darkness much. Knowing that you were up gave me courage to go here.'

'At least you're not sleeping in front of my room anymore,' the older boy said dryly.

Fuji laughed softly. 'You were the coolest and strongest person I knew back then. Of course I would go to you! I think I still would. You're sixteen, but you look like a full grown man. You're so tall and broad!'

'You will grow more too.'

'I won't,' replied Fuji.

'You don't kn… oh, I see. I'm sorry.' Tezuka didn't really know what to say.

'Don't worry,' said Fuji with a smile. 'I guess it suits me, ne? I look rather feminine, so it would be strange if I had a big manly body like yours.'

'That might be indeed,' answered Tezuka. 'But you do have the brains of an adult. That's more important, especially in your case, where you work for the King at a young age.'

'Yeah, I probably have seen a lot of things I shouldn't have seen at this age, or that nobody should ever see, at any age. Maybe that makes me older than other people that are fourteen as well. But you don't really act your age either, Tezuka! Everyone thinks you're about twenty years old, but that is still four years from now!'

'I guess we're both more mature then. But if you don't mind, I would like to use the lavatory now.'

Fuji stepped aside and let Tezuka in. A minute later he came back again and noticed Fuji had been waiting for him.

'Why are you still here?' he asked.

'Will you walk me back to my room? It's so dark in the hall way, my eyes are used to the light by now.'

Tezuka raised an eyebrow, but when Fuji showed him his puppy eyes he didn't resist. 'Alright,' he said. 'But hurry now, or it will be morning already.'


	16. Chapter 16

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **16  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **920 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Fuji walked aimlessly around in the castle. The King was away for a while, visiting people and projects all over the country, and Tezuka was with him, because the King needed advise everywhere. But the Seer had not been invited to come along, so he was alone and he was bored. He had already visited Saeki, but the other boy had been busy. The fact that the King wasn't at home didn't mean the servants didn't have a lot to do, the Queen was still there! He had also visited Eiji, who had been working in the garden, but it had started raining and the redhead had other things to do. He had to help to fix a barn.

So Fuji was alone. Everybody was working, but the Seer had never really learned to do anything else than predicting the future. He could read and write, but he already read an entire book yesterday and he wanted some action. So he was just walking around, looking for something to do or someone he could help. When he was in the basement, he almost bumped into one of the cooks.

'Kawamura-san!' said Fuji surprised. 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you.'

'Fuji-kun, nice to see you again, it's been a while!' answered the cook. 'Or is it Fuji-san now? You're in a higher position than I am.'

'No, I'm nothing too special. The fact that I was born with this ability doesn't mean people have to look up at me. I'm not better than anybody else. Please, just call me 'Fuji'.'

'Fuji it is then,' smiled Kawamura. 'Want to come to the kitchen? Then we can talk a little. We're making a special desert for the Queen, you could try it if you want to!'

'I'd love that!' said Fuji happy and he followed the cook. He finally had something to do now. He went to the kitchen and greeted Ohtori who was at work as well.

'Oh, Fuji-kun, long time no see!' said the tall man with a friendly smile. 'Here, taste this, it will be for the Queen's lunch.'

Fuji took the sandwich that was offered to him and took a bite. 'That's really good!' he said. He never got something like that for lunch.

'You can eat it then,' said Ohtori. 'We still have a lot of others, the Queen won't be able to eat them all on her own anyway.'

'And we still have to thank you in some way,' said Kawamura who started to work with the meat for dinner. 'Remember the first time we met you and we gave you some popped corn? You told us if we would ever meet a nice girl and I'm married now. Your predictions came true!'

'I met a really nice girl a few months ago,' confessed Ohtori, his cheeks were red.

'I'm glad to hear that,' said Fuji before he took another bite from the sandwich. 'But I only told you it was going to happen, I didn't make it happen myself, so you don't have to thank me.'

'But you gave us something to look forward to,' said Kawamura. 'Neither of us really expected to find a girl, but you gave us hope and now we both found our happiness.'

'I can taste it in your food,' laughed Fuji. 'This is really good! I hope the Queen will like it as much as I do!'

'You haven't even tried the desert yet!' said Ohtori. He took a box from the table and removed the lid. There were beautiful sweet cakes in it. They had all kinds of colors and there were pieces of fruit in all of them.

'Pick one,' said the tall man. 'Doesn't matter which one, they look different, but they all taste the same.'

'Can I really have one?' Fuji asked surprised. 'Why? Not to thank me, right? Because there is really no need to do that.'

'A little,' said Kawamura. 'But you're a really nice kid and we have plenty of these anyway. We sometimes gave something to others, but they don't really seem to appreciate it as much as you do. We enjoy it when people enjoy the food we make.'

Fuji looked into the box again and then took one of the deserts. The cooks gave him a plate and a fork to eat it. The Seer sat down at the table and took a bit. His eyes opened when he swallowed the first piece.

'This is really good!' he said. 'Ah, the Queen is so lucky to always get such tasty food!'

The two cooks laughed. 'Good you like it,' they said before they went back to work. 'Take your time eating it. We like it to have some company in the kitchen, but we also have to get the food done before lunch!'

Fuji stayed a bit longer and talked to the two of them about the life upstairs. They hardly got out of the basement and they loved all the rumors the Seer told them. He could even tell them if they were true or not. Fuji enjoyed their company as well. The two men were quite a bit older than he was, but they were kind and didn't treat him like he was some kind of mysterious magician. Fuji also enjoyed the food they gave him very much and the cooks seemed to work harder when the cheerful teenager sat with them. So from that day on Fuji visited the basement at least once a week.


	17. Chapter 17

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **17  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1841 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Fuji and Tezuka sat in the gardens of the King on a sunny day. The people who worked and lived at the castle weren't allowed to spend time there, but he King didn't mind if his most trusted people were there to enjoy the nice weather. Eiji was working and he talked with his two friends for a little, but he didn't have much time. In summer he had a lot to do to make sure the gardens would look perfect!

The King himself was ill at the moment. If he had been healthy he would probably have been there himself, with some friends or his wife. At those moments no one else was allowed to be around. But he was in bed with a cold and Tezuka and Fuji didn't mind at all. Now they didn't have any duties and they could enjoy the weather together for once.

They were sitting on a nice bench, watching the fountain that was in the middle of the grass and the trees.

'It's so beautiful here,' sighed Fuji. 'I don't think I have ever seen a great place like this. Not even in the future or in someone's history. This is really something special.'

Tezuka nodded. He had never really spend time in this place either, since he was always busy with helping the King. They watched how one of the King's personal servants was playing with his kids and the water of the fountain.

'Makes me wish I could have had such a place where I could go with my family,' mumbled Fuji. 'Times like this make me miss them and I wish I could have grown up in a way like that. With my parents.'

'It hasn't been bad, right? ' asked Tezuka. 'Your youth.'

'It wasn't bad indeed,' said Fuji. 'It was rather nice to be honest, but going out and have some fun with your with your mom or dad or siblings must be nice. And then you always have somewhere to go to if you have problems or anything. I just wish I had something like that.'

'Do you remember what your parents were like?' Tezuka asked.

'Yeah, a little,' said Fuji. 'But it could be I made that all up. Fake memories, since I don't want to look in the future or in their history. But my mother was a really kind woman who loved her kids and other people as well. My sister was a lot like her. She was a few years older than I am, but she always played with me and Yuuta like we were of the same age. Yuuta was always frowning and he took everything much more serious than I did or my mom or sister. I think he looked more like my dad, although I don't remember much of my dad.'

'He was the one who brought you here,' said Tezuka.

'I remember that, but that was mostly because of his own interests,' sighed Fuji. 'He got money from the King and not just that, he had gotten rid of me, that is what he really wanted. I think he was a little scared of me, because I might figure all his secrets out. I did do that, but wasn't until I was about twelve when I did so.'

'Why does a father want to get rid of his kids if they will find out their secrets?' asked Tezuka. 'Must be something terrible he did then.'

'He often took me to the market. I really liked it there, since there were so many interesting people and so many things to buy. But we often went to houses of people and he knocked and went in there, but I always had to wait outside. He was always in there for about half an hour and sometimes even longer. As a young kid I hardly had the patience to wait for him, so sometimes I walked around a little and once I even went to get a book from a store. I could borrow it. I never knew what he was doing there, but later I remembered he always went to women, not ever to a man, so I guess I know what he was up to.'

Tezuka didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent and looked at his friend, encouraging him to continue.

'When he found out I could see the future and the past he was afraid I would say something about it to my mother. He probably didn't want her to find out and since I didn't know it was secret what he was doing there, he thought I might accidently spill out what was going on and break up our family. I think he loved my mom, I know he was always really kind to her, like she was kind to him. I just don't really understand him. Or actually, understood him. He might have changed by now.'

'Is that a good reason to get rid of your own son, never seeing him again?' Tezuka asked.

'Not just me seeing the future, but of course also the fact that he had depts. I don't know what he bought or if he had to pay those women money for the things they did for him, but selling me probably made him earn lots. I just hoped he shared it with my mother and siblings.'

The cat Yuuta had found his way to the garden. Normally he wasn't allowed there either, since the guests wouldn't like such a scruffy cat to walk around, but now it wasn't a problem. It was hard to keep the old animal away from Fuji.

'What is your family like?' Fuji asked.' I know you're a lot like your dad, but I hardly ever saw your mother. Do you have any other family members?'

'I look a lot like my father indeed, but my mother is very different,' Tezuka answered. 'She is probably a lot like your mother. She is kind and friendly to everybody, but she is also a hard worker and someone who will fight for her family. I don't see her too often either, but whenever she has the chance she will come to see me and my father.'

'She must miss the two of you,' Fuji said with a smile. 'It's sad that you can't see her too often either. Do you miss her?'

'A little,' answered Tezuka. 'When I see that father with his kid I also wish I could have been like that with my parents and I still wish I could see them a little more often, but I don't really miss my mother. I see her at least once a month and if I hadn't lived at the castle it wouldn't have been that much of a difference. I might have left the house by now and started to work for myself, so then I wouldn't have seen them that much either.'

'That is true, but you could also have worked together with your father and you could have seen him every day. Your mom too.'

'I see my father everyday now too. I learned almost everything I know from him and he all learned it from his father. I think it was supposed to be like this.'

'Your grandfather, did he pass away?' Fuji asked carefully. 'I never heard you talk about him, nor your father.'

'He did pass away,' said Tezuka. 'When the old King died he was suddenly gone. I was still too young to understand, but my father said he wasn't around anymore. But there is no grave for him on the graveyard, so I don't know where they buried him.'

'It's too bad you don't know that. We could have visited his grave and pay our respects,' sighed Fuji. 'Do you want me to see where they buried him?'

'No, it's fine, I hardly knew him and I think it's better this way. They said my dad looked a lot like him, so I guess I look a lot like him too. Knowing that is enough for me.'

'I see,' said Fuji. 'Life here is never easy for people, ne? Did your parents meet here at the castle?'

'They did, but they didn't both work here,' answered Tezuka. 'My dad worked here, with my grandfather as the advisor of the King. The old King that is. He got visitors from another country and my mom was one of the maids that helped the Queen of that other country to get comfortable around here. They saw each other once, but they both knew they were supposed to be together. My mother did go back to the other country, but when that Queen came to visit again, she joined as well and never left anymore.'

'Sounds so romantic,' sighed Fuji. 'Love at first sight. Your father doesn't look like a person who could fall in love at first sight, but I guess appearance doesn't say it all. But we know there is still hope for you then!'

Fuji laughed as Tezuka looked confused at him. 'I mean you can still find yourself a nice woman, even if you don't find the perfect girl here at the castle. It happened to your father, it might happen to you too!'

'That would be too much of a coincidence,' answered Tezuka.

'No, that is called fate,' said Fuji. 'You can't help it when it happens!'

'I'm not so sure anymore if I want a girlfriend,' sighed Tezuka. 'I see the King has a lot of trouble with the Queen and I don't want to become like that. Or like my parents, who only see each other in the evening and sleep in the same room. Other than that they hardly see each other. What is good about such a relationship? You can't enjoy your life together. Isn't that what marriage should be about.'

'That's the only reason you don't want to marry?' Fuji asked. 'I'm sure your mother and father are really happy those short moments they are together. I mean, the less time you have, the more special it is. I'm sure they will do anything to see each other every day. It was probably worse when they were younger, otherwise you wouldn't have been here!'

Tezuka blushed. He didn't want to think about things like that! Nor did he want to think about himself in such a position.

'Maybe I like guys better too,' he said suddenly. Fuji opened his eyes and stared at his friend.

'What makes you think so?'

'I thought about it since the last time we talked about it and I don't really dislike the thought of being with another man. I don't like it too much either, but that's the same for a relationship with a woman. I'm not really craving that either.'

'You really don't have to worry about such things,' smiled Fuji. 'When you will fall in love, you will know and you will know it's alright, no matter who you will fall for.'


	18. Chapter 18

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **18  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1587 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 18**

'Fuji-sama, could you please help us?' asked one of the servants when he saw the Seer walking around.

'What is it?' Fuji asked. 'How can I help?'

'Will my wife get better?' one of them asked. 'She is terribly ill and I'm so scared she will die. I don't want to lose her. Do you know if there is anything I can do for her?'

Fuji wanted to sigh. He wasn't a doctor, he couldn't make people feel better, he couldn't cure illness. He could only tell them what could happen in the future and that was not always a positive thing.

'Alright, but just this once,' he said. He looked in the future and checked the different outcomes. In some futures the woman died, in others she lived, but it all depended on the things they would do for her.

'Go to the doctor and asked him for the right herbs,' said the Seer. 'He will know what to give to her and she will get better. I know you're not allowed to ask the personal doctor of the King for help, but he once helped me as well and I'm helping you, so I don't think it should be much of a problem.'

'Thank you! Thank you Fuji-sama!' said the servant. 'I'm forever in your debt.'

'No you're not, you should have just gone to the doctor in the first place, then you wouldn't have needed me.'

'Fuji-sama, could you answer my questions too?' asked a young woman who hadn't been working at the castle for a long time. She just came in a few months ago and had a hard time to find her place.

'What is it?' Fuji asked. 'Is it important?'

'For me it is, Fuji-sama, but if you think it's something pointless you don't have to give me an answer. But my mother, she was ill when I left her. I want to know if she is still alive. If not, I want to visit her grave. I want to be at her funeral if possible.'

'Your mother is still alive, but she isn't doing well. She will die in a week, so if you want to be at her funeral, please visit her soon to talk to her and make sure you can leave here when the funeral will be held.'

Fuji knew he sounded harsh, but the truth was harsh, this whole world was harsh and he couldn't do much to change it, except telling these people how they could make things a little more happy for themselves.

'Could you help me too?' asked another woman. She was born here at the castle and a few years ago she had married one of the man that worked around at the castle.

'Tell me what you want to know,' said Fuji. He mentally sighed, but didn't say anything to these people. He had started to help them, he couldn't just stop and leave the questions of the others unanswered.

'Will I ever have a baby?' she asked.

Fuji raised an eyebrow. It seemed this woman wanted to get pregnant really badly. He looked into the future, but there was no child. No child of her own.

'I'm sorry,' he said softly, not sure how to answer her question without hurting her. 'You must really love kids. I can tell you they will soon need help at the school. There will be more children, since the King hired more people to work for him. Ryuuzaki-sensei can't do it all on her own anymore and I can see she would really appreciate your help.'

The woman started crying and one of the others tried to comfort here. Fuji couldn't tell her she might get an adopted daughter, because that did not happen in all the futures he saw for her. He didn't want to make her happy about something that might never happen. When he wanted to walk away a man grabbed his sleeve. It was an old man, that had been working his entire life for the Kings of the country.

'Does the King appreciate my work?' he asked. It was all he had ever lived for. He had always done anything for the Kings to make them happy.

Fuji could see that King Atobe didn't even know who this man was and he felt really bad for him. 'The King is very happy with your work and the work you did for his father,' he answered instead.

The man smiled happily. It looked like he had fulfilled everything he wanted in his life and that made Fuji a little sad. That was probably going to be his future as well. Someone who would spend his entire life helping the King and the future King without ever being thanked for his work. The important people took servants and people like him for granted. They thought they had to right to use others like this and Fuji wanted to do anything he could to make those people feel like they were worth it.

'Will my mommy come back?' asked a little kid that had been standing far away, but now had the courage to approach him.

Fuji looked at her past and could see her mother passed away a year ago, but her father had lied to her and had told her she had left the castle, but that she would not be able to come back. He also told her that her mother was thinking of her every day and that she loved her daughter more than anybody in the world. The girl was still looking a little sad, but the idea that her mommy was thinking of her and loved her cheered her up a little.

'Do you know if my younger brother really was my father's favorite?' asked a man. Fuji looked at him. It seemed that the people were telling each other that the Seer was giving answers today, because the man hadn't been there before.

'No, your father didn't have a favorite. He loved you both equally, but you two made it like he preferred your brother. Your father loved you as much as he loved your brother. But people, I really have to go now, I still have a lot of things to do for his Majesty!'

Nobody really listened to him. A woman pulled his sleeve and Fuji turned around when he couldn't walk away.

'Is the man I thought was my father, really my father?'

'I don't know,' answered Fuji. 'I can't read your mind. I don't know which man you are talking about! But your real father has black hair and he is really tall.'

'NO!' screamed the woman. 'He can't be my father! You are not telling the truth!'

Fuji was a bit shocked. It was the first time someone did not believe his words. 'I can't help it, it's what I see when I look into your past. Could you let go of my sleeve now? Thank you!'

The woman let him go, but Fuji still couldn't walk away, because Saeki was standing in front of him.

'Now that you're answering all those questions, could you answer mine as well?' he asked. He had never really dared to ask and he wasn't troubled by it yet when he was still a young child. 'Why is most of my hair white?'

Fuji looked at him and bit his lip. 'Something happened to you when you were about two or three years old,' he said. 'It has been so shocking that you your hair turned white. Before it was black, after it was completely white. The white part never completely left. But if you don't remember, you probably blocked it. I think it's for the best that you don't remember. Everything happens for a reason.'

'WHY ARE YOU HERE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' sounded the angry voice of the impatient King. Within seconds all the servants and maids were gone and Fuji stood alone in the hall way.

'I'm very sorry, Your Majesty,' he said. 'A few people had very important questions and I couldn't leave them in doubt.'

'You are here to predict _my_ future, Seer, you better remember that!' said King Atobe. 'And if you do not do as I say and not come when I call for you, I will make sure you will never be able to see the future anymore!'

'H.. how would you do that, Your Majesty?' Fuji asked boldly, but a little worried. The King could stab his eyes out. He wouldn't be able to see his surroundings, but he would still be able to see the history and the future. He didn't need his eyes for that.

'Oh, you're a Seer, but you don't know your own weakness?' asked the King. 'Stupid! You should know that a Seer will lose his ability once his body will come in close contact with another body.'

Fuji opened his eyes. He wasn't sure if he understood what the King was saying. 'You mean…' he whispered.

'That is exactly what I mean!' laughed the most important man of the country. 'You can never have sex with anybody, without losing your ability! You'll be the most useless man on earth! Good, now that we settled that, you will have to tell me if I can go outside right now. Will it be safe? I won't get assassinated?'

'It will be safe,' answered Fuji, although he was desperately searching for a future where the King would get assassinated.


	19. Chapter 19

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **19  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1271 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 19**

The young Seer had to sit through another meeting. Although he was sixteen now, he still got incredibly bored every time he had to join. The Dukes, Earls and the King were talking about things he wasn't interested in and where his abilities could not be of any help at all. He was always glad when it was time for a break, so he could talk to Tezuka for a little while. The important men never really spoke to him, they often continued to speak about business, even during the break.

But this time it was different. Fuji made his way towards the future advisor of the King when he was stopped by the redheaded Duke. Fuji knew his name by now, it was Sengoku-san. It was a nice man and he liked to make jokes now and then, so things would become less serious.

'It's been a while since I have seen you,' said Sengoku. 'You have grown a lot, in all different ways. I mean, not just your body, your abilities too. Although I must say you were already very good at a young age.'

Fuji felt a little awkward. He didn't really know what the man was trying to say, so he just smiled and thanked him for his kind words.

'So, how old are you now?' asked the redhead.

'Sixteen,' answered Fuji.

'Oh, you're not of age yet then,' answered the Duke. He almost sounded disappointed. 'You look like a grown up already. Or maybe that is because of the wise things you say.'

'Most people think I'm younger than my actual age,' answered the Seer, a little surprised the Duke thought he looked older. To find out what the man was up to he took a quick look in the future and what he had suspected was confirmed. The man fancied him and was trying to get him into his bed. Luckily for Fuji in none of those futures Sengoku got what he wanted.

'I can imagine some people hope you are old enough already,' smiled the Duke. 'You are very beautiful. You must get a lot of attention from the girls and probably the men as well. Most men like something pretty too.'

'They do,' smiled Fuji. 'I can see you are one of those men. You flatter me with your words, but I'm afraid I can't give you want you want from me. Not only am I not of age yet, I also can't do it, because I will lose my abilities if I do so. Without my insight to see the history and the future I would be useless for the King and he wouldn't need me anymore. You wouldn't want that to happen, right?'

The Duke laughed. 'No, no sure wouldn't want something like that to happen. The King can be a strict man and he wouldn't like it if I would take your wonderful abilities away from you, but it sure is disappointing nobody will ever get a taste of such a great body.'

Fuji wondered how Sengoku-san knew he had a great body. His cloak was hiding most of it. The Seer thought about what to answer when Tezuka suddenly appeared next to him.

'I'm very sorry, Sengoku-san, but I have something to discuss with Fuji-san,' he said. 'Fuji-san, could you please help me for a moment when you are done talking to the Duke?'

Fuji smiled at his friend. He was acting so well. They never spoke to each other like that when they were together. 'I think we're already done, so I'll come with you right now. If you would excuse me, Sengoku-san, it was nice talking to you.'

With that said the two of them walked to a corner of the room where nobody would disturb them.

'What was he talking to you about?' Tezuka asked a little angry.

'He fancies me,' Fuji smiled. 'He was talking about how well I was growing up and that I looked so good and adult-like for my age. I guess you can imagine what he wanted from me, ne?'

'Don't ever do anything with him,' Tezuka warned. 'He is a real big flirt, anything that looks good will do. He even flirted with the Queen. The King was incredibly angry.'

'I can imagine,' the Seer answered. 'Although I think Sengoku-san would give her more love than the King has ever done before. But well, I wasn't planning to let him do anything to me, so don't worry. If he would try something the King would kill him.'

'Why?' asked Tezuka a bit surprised about Fuji's confidence. The King didn't really care that much about his people.

'Because the King told me that if I would… well, sleep with someone, you know, I would lose my ability and I would become useless. Duke Sengoku will definitely not want to be the cause of it when I lose my ability. The King doesn't do a thing without asking me first if he will survive it. He would never forgive him.'

'Is it true?' Tezuka asked.

'What, that the King will never forgive Sengoku-san?'

'No, you know what I'm talking about.'

'You mean if I will lose my sight of the future and the past if I sleep with someone?'

'Yes,' answered Tezuka. 'Is it true?'

'I don't know,' answered Fuji honestly. 'It's not like I ever tried and I don't know any other Seers so I can't ask them about it. I searched in the library, but I couldn't find any answers there either.'

'So you will probably never have a… proper relationship?' Tezuka asked a bit shyly.

'Do I sense a little disappointment?' Fuji said with a smirk on his face.

'Well… yeah,' mumbled Tezuka. 'It's a bit sad, you are forced to be alone for the rest of your life. That's not something I wish for anyone, let alone a friend.'

'It will be fate if I will have to stay alone the rest of my life,' answered the Seer, his smirk had turned into a sad smile. 'Maybe I will find someone who doesn't mind such a relationship. If not, I'll be alone and hope I will have a lot of good friends in the future too. I don't think I would ever be lonely if I can continue to work here. There are so many kind people around.'

'Let's stay friends, so neither of us will get lonely,' proposed Tezuka. 'Maybe we can find out more about your abilities.'

'You won't get lonely, Tezuka,' grinned Fuji, his sad mood seemed to be gone already. 'Look at you! You're seriously handsome. I'm sure you will find a girl sometime soon and you will have a nice little family together. You will never be lonely! You'll have a smart son who will become the advisor of the King when you retire!'

'No, I don't want…' started Tezuka, but he was interrupted by the King.

'Tea time is over already, let's go back to discussing more important business! Chop chop, we will discuss the taxes next, so hurry up and sit down.'

Fuji looked at Tezuka. He wanted to ask what his friend was going to tell him, but they had no time for it now. The orders of the King were more important than their friendship. If they wouldn't listen they could get fired and they would never see each other again.

'So, Fuji, tell me if the people will get angry if I raise the taxes again, with… well, what about two per cent? I want my rooms to be redecorated again and we need more money.'


	20. Chapter 20

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **20  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **2854 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Fuji searched for weeks in the library, but also in the books that were stored in the attic, but he couldn't find any information about Seers. There were a few books that spoke about their existence and about their abilities, but none of them said anything about losing said abilities. It was a rumor and couldn't be confirmed by anyone. Still Fuji didn't dare to take it as a lie. If he indeed wouldn't be able to see the future or the past anymore he would be done for. He wouldn't be able to work for the King anymore and he had never learned to do anything else. He would be kicked out of the castle and he would probably never be able to find another job.

When Fuji heard about his friends his age who did enjoy body contact with girls or sometimes with boys, he walked away. He didn't want to hear about it. He didn't want to know if it would be good or not, because he would never be able to experience it himself. He spend less time with Saeki now that he had found himself a girlfriend, nor did he spend much time with Eiji, who had confessed his true feelings to the young butler of the King.

Fuji was really happy for them that they were so happy, but at the same time it hurt him that they didn't understand his feelings and took it for granted they could live their lives the way they wanted. Tezuka was the only one who understood, but neither of them really liked to talk about it, so they didn't.

The Seer couldn't completely forget about the topic, because he was confronted with it almost every day. Often he had to help people who thought their husband or wife cheated on them. It was the job of the King to help them and answer their questions, but in the end it was always Fuji who had to help to clear things up. He got sick and tired of it.

He got even more tired of the red-haired Duke though. He didn't see the man too often, once a month if he was unlucky, but the man kept flirting with him, even though Fuji told him clearly that he wasn't interested. Even Tezuka's interferences didn't help. He kept trying. Fuji thought he probably couldn't stand being rejected, because the girls in the castle adored him. The maids loved his attention and were jealous when he was once again talking to the Seer. And right now it was one of those moments.

'Sengoku-san, I'm very sorry, but I told you plenty of times already that I'm not interested and even if I was interested, we couldn't do anything, because I would end up losing my abilities and I'll be kicked out of the castle. I do not want that to happen.'

'I'll take you in, you can live with me,' said the redhead with his usual grin. 'I don't mind at all.'

'No, but I'm sure your wife would mind if you bring all your mistresses home like they're puppies or something. Maybe you should spend more time with her?'

'I will get you, you'll see,' said the Duke, his grin had disappeared. 'If you want it or not, I will get you!'

Fuji knew he was being serious. He knew the Duke and his wife were fighting at the moment and that the Duke would stay a few nights at the castle, because there were a lot of things to arrange for the King. He couldn't and wouldn't spend time with his wife anytime soon, but it was the only way Fuji could escape.

Not for long though, because the King asked for him and the Seer knew a few of the Dukes and Earls would be there again. He didn't know what they were discussing, because for once he was not allowed to join them. But now it seemed they needed his help anyway.

'How can I help you, Your Majesty?' he asked as he bowed deeply for the man on the throne. The Queen was standing next to him. She normally never bothered with the business of the Kingdom. It surprised Fuji, but the King always had his own reasons for keeping her away.

'We have been discussing a few things the last few days,' said King Atobe seriously. 'It took us a while and now we need your help. Tell me why my wife is not pregnant yet.'

Fuji opened his eyes. The King always managed to surprise him, even though he could see the future.

'Shouldn't you ask the doctor about it, Your Majesty?' he asked. He didn't want to become a part of this, because he knew things would go wrong sometime soon.

'I already asked the doctor about it, but he couldn't give us an answer, that is why I'm asking you. So tell me and tell it quickly.'

'Your wife is pregnant at the moment, Your Majesty,' Fuji answered, but he didn't sound very happy to be the messenger of this news.

'She is pregnant? How long?' asked the King before he turned to the Queen. 'Did you already know? Why didn't you tell me?'

The Queen looked scared and she was stuttering as she spoke, so Fuji took over from her.

'She's been pregnant for almost six weeks now, everything is still very small and invisible,' he explained. 'I'm sure the Queen didn't even know it herself yet. I'm sorry to bring you the news in such a way.'

'I don't mind at all how I hear it, as long as I will get a son!' said the King. 'But if you are almost six weeks pregnant, it cannot be my child. I was gone out six weeks ago, I wasn't around for a long time. Even if it's a little more or a little less than six weeks, it still can't be my child. I was in the South to inspect a few cities. Seer, who's child is it?!'

Fuji's mind ran through all different kind of futures. It was his fault that the Queen was in trouble and he wanted to help her out. He had seen the past and he knew who the real father of the baby was. But the future would always provide a way out. There was always a future that would make everyone happy, or at least the most important people at the scene.

Six weeks ago, when the Seer had once again rejected Duke Sengoku, the man had searched for somebody else to take care of his needs. When he couldn't get the Seer, the Duke had found himself another victim. The Queen had been an easy victim. She was lonely and even when her husband was at home, he didn't give her much attention. She had been very happy with the attention she had gotten from the Duke and had gladly accepted him, even though she knew it was wrong.

It had only been once, because after that the redhead wasn't interested anymore. Once was enough for him, not just with the Queen, once with anyone was enough for him.

The Queen knew she was pregnant. She had told Duke Sengoku about it, but he had told her it wasn't his problem and that she should tell her husband it was his child. Fuji could see how the young Queen had cried herself to sleep many times since that day and he felt sorry for her.

'I'm afraid it's my fault that she is pregnant, Your Majesty,' said Fuji.

Everybody was obviously shocked. Their eyes widened, their mouths fell open and surprised words were heard through the entire room. Everybody started whispering to each other immediately.

'Seer, what are you trying to tell me?' asked the King angry. 'Are you the father of the child?'

'No,' answered Fuji. 'Please let me explain. Duke Sengoku is the father. Earlier on the day that her Majesty got pregnant, Sengoku-san came to me and tried to talk me into his bed. I listened to your warning, Your Majesty, because I don't want to lose my ability, so I declined him and also gave him the reasons why. But it seemed the Duke needed someone to satisfy his needs. He chose the Queen, for obvious reasons. She is a very beautiful woman and you were away at the moment. An easy target.'

The King nodded that he agreed with that. His wife was very good looking and the Duke took advantage of his absence.

'He went to Her Majesty the Queen after he talked to me and did the same to her as he tried with me. Of course she refused, but she is a woman, not nearly as strong as the Duke. He took her to his room by force. She struggled, but couldn't do anything. He took her by force and then left her alone. She confronted him when she thought she might be pregnant. It was only a few days ago, but he couldn't be bothered. He even came to me again today to ask me to join him in his bed. Who knows who else he has approached and forced to do something like this! I know I should have given him my body, Your Majesty, and I really regret what I did, because now the Queen and you are hurt and I might have stopped him if I had given the Duke my own body. It might have stopped him.'

'LIES!' shouted Sengoku. 'They're all lies, Your Majesty! She gave herself willing to me. I did not rape Her Majesty the Queen. She willingly gave herself to me when I asked her!'

'The fact that you asked her is bad enough by itself!' yelled the King back. 'How dare you even think something like that?!' King Atobe turned to his wife, who hadn't said a word until now. 'Is it true, darling, is he the father of your child? Did everything the Seer said really happen to you?'

Fuji could only pray she would confirm. The story wasn't completely untrue, but the Queen was an honest person and she might not want to lie to her husband, no matter what circumstances. Fuji looked at her, trying to make her understand that she had to agree with his story, for both their sakes, even for the sake of the King! It worked, because she nodded, confirming Fuji's story.

'You bitch!' shouted Sengoku to her. 'It's not true! You didn't mind at all, you screamed my name in pleasure! You said you never had something as good as you had with me that night! You said I was better than your husband would ever be! Should I make you remember?!'

The red-haired man took a deep breath before he turned to Fuji. 'And who do you think you are?! Coming up with such a story to make me look bad! You planned this! If you didn't like my attention you should have said so! I only gave you want you want! You wanted me almost as badly as the Queen wanted me! You were craving for me, but your fear for the King was even bigger than that! You're a coward and you will never know what true pleasure is like!'

Fuji just looked at him without showing any emotion. He just waited until the man was done before he turned to face the King again. Everyone was looking at the King. They were all curious about what he would do now. He looked seriously angry, but he was trying to hide his emotions, so he wouldn't yell again.

'I have two witnesses who tell me the same story. Sengoku, would you please leave this room right now and never come back here again,' started the King slowly. 'From today on you are not a Duke anymore, you are banned from our government and you will have to leave your house within a month. You can take whatever you like, as long as you are out of that house in a month. If you are not gone by then I will make sure you will be thrown in prison where you will find a lot of men who wouldn't mind your attention. I don't want to see you ever again!'

The ex-Duke wanted to protest, but the King raised his hand and two guards took the man by his arms and dragged him out of the room. The King had spoken and there was no way back now. What was done was done and Sengoku had to go. Soon his place would be taken by somebody else who would be more capable.

When the redheaded ex-Duke had left the room, everybody let out their breaths that they had been holding. They all were a little relieved that the man had left, but there was another problem to take care of. The Queen was pregnant, but not of the King.

'There are rules for situations like this,' said King Atobe to his wife. 'You can stay at the castle and someone will take care of you and your child, but I can never accept it as my child. I will marry another woman, because for the law you have been unfaithful and that means I need another wife to make sure I will get a son. You won't be able to give me an heir anymore, you understand that, right? If you want to leave, you are allowed to leave and go where ever you want. I won't stop you.'

The Queen had tears in her eyes as she looked at the King. 'I'm so sorry,' she said. The tears were running down her cheeks by now. 'I think I will leave. I don't think I can live here while you have another wife. I will go, so you can continue your life the way you want and I won't be bothering you anymore.'

'You were never a bother,' said King Atobe. 'But if you want to, you should go. You can always come back, even if you just want to visit, whenever you want.'

The Queen showed a small smile, took the King's hands and bowed for him. 'Thank you for everything,' she whispered. Then she let go of his hands and walked away. When she closed the door behind her the King stood up and followed her out of the room. When the door closed it was completely silent for a few seconds before everybody started talking. Within seconds there was a lot of noise in the room, even though there weren't that many people around.

Fuji just stood there, still in the same place in the middle of the room. He didn't move until Tezuka put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

'Did I do the wrong thing, Tezuka?' he asked before his friend could say anything.

'I'm not sure, I don't know what really happened, but I guess the Queen didn't do it all involuntary, right?'

'She let him do it, but he did leave her crying afterwards and he was being an asshole when she told him she was pregnant of him. He deserved punishment for the way he treated her and many other women in this world that nobody will ever hear about.'

'But you also did it for yourself?' Tezuka asked.

Fuji bit his lip. He hated how Tezuka knew him so well, but he was also glad, but he could never have spoken those words himself. They were true. He had done this for himself as well. He didn't want to tell the man to piss off every time he visited the castle. It was tiring and Fuji had been afraid that Sengoku would one day force him to do it. It had all been to protect himself in the first place. The Queen, who had been much more important, came second.'

'I guess you did the right thing,' answered Tezuka. 'It would have come out anyway, so it's better if they all know from the beginning what had happened, even though it's not completely the truth. The King would have known it couldn't be his baby. Earl Inui was already counting, he would definitely have told the King about it.'

'But the Queen had to leave like this,' sighed Fuji. 'I thought she and the King didn't have a very good relationship, since they hardly ever saw each other, but they seemed to do better than anybody would have thought. I feel bad for breaking them up like this.'

'Don't feel bad,' said Tezuka softly. 'The Queen was pregnant of another man, she would have left the castle one day or another. It would have been impossible for her to live here when the King would have another wife. See it as her punishment for sleeping with another man. If she hadn't done that she wouldn't have had any trouble and she would still live here in peace.'

Fuji smiled at his friend. 'Thank you,' he said. 'You always manage to cheer me up.'

* * *

No chap next weeks, since I won't be around then!


	21. Chapter 21

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **21  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **3382 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

Sorry for this crappy chapter, I'm extremely tired.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

It was only a few weeks after the Queen had left that a new ruler was chosen for the part of the country where Duke Sengoku had ruled before. It hadn't been a hard decision, because Duke Akazawa was the most important man of the area now. He moved into the house where Sengoku had lived and took over his jobs and tasks. Soon everybody was used to this new situation like it had been like this forever.

A more important decision and an bigger change was the fact that the King had to choose another wife and the country would have another Queen. The people of the country had heard a fake story about what happened to the former Queen, so they would understand why a new one was chosen.

Fuji wasn't looking forward to the picking of the new Queen. He remembered last time a little too well and he knew it would be exactly the same this time. The King would just chose his women because of their bodies and looks and not because of who they were or what they could or could not do. The King didn't seem to mind if they were idiots, as long as they pleasured him in his bed.

The Seer hoped he had learned from the last Queen. She had not been just about looks. She had brains and she had helped him often in difficult situations. Hopefully the King would remember that when he would see all the girls with their big boobs and tiny waists. Those things would blind the King and hide the brains of the girl. Fuji was not looking forward to help the King to make a decision.

All the women came from important and rich families, but when they had the opportunity to become the most important woman of the country they forgot about all their manners. They flirted with their bodies to get the attention of a man they didn't even know.

Fuji met Tezuka in the hall way that lead to the room where the girls would be waiting for them.

'Looking forward to take a good look at a bunch of hot girls?' Fuji asked with a grin on his face. He knew Tezuka didn't like these kind of things at all. He probably hated it more than Fuji did.

'No,' was all the older boy said in reply.

Fuji laughed. 'Me neither. How can I chose a good wife for the King if I don't like girls myself? I don't really understand his feelings. I don't understand what he likes about a woman. I don't know why he likes big boobs so much, since I'm not interested at all.'

'Maybe that makes it easier for you,' said Tezuka. 'You're no biased. You don't like the looks of the girl, so you can take a better look at her personality. That should make your decision easier.'

'But I can understand the King would want a wife that looks cute or sexy,' said Fuji. 'He would want a wife that looks lovely, so all other men will be jealous of him. I guess I will take a look at the personalities then and you should decide who looks the best, so we can together help the King with his decision.'

Tezuka raised an eyebrow as he looked at his friend. He would probably never stop teasing him, but somehow he didn't really mind. 'I think picking a partner for somebody else is always a difficult thing to do,' he said, changing the subject. 'I wouldn't be able to pick one for you either. You only know what kind of partner is suitable for yourself and some people don't even know that much.'

'I'm glad I can chose my own partner,' smiled Fuji. 'I don't think anybody would be able to choose the right person for me.'

'Because you have strange tastes,' joked Tezuka.

Fuji grinned. 'Don't tell that to the person I like, he might be offended!'

They pushed open the doors to the room and entered it. All the women in the room stood up, but when they noticed neither of the two men were the King, they sat down again. A few servants were walking around and were preparing everything. They made a place for Tezuka and Fuji to sit. The young Seer sat down. On purpose he acted with more air than he normally did. The arrogant girls should know that they were less important than he was. He had a lot of influence on the King and they didn't have any of that yet.

Tezuka took care of their attitude. He stepped forward towards the women and welcomed them. He introduced himself as the King's personal advisor and subtly explained he and Fuji had a lot to say about who of them would become the new Queen. Suddenly the girls showed a lot more respect. Tezuka turned around and sat down next to Fuji. The girls started chatting softly with each other.

'I hope your father will get better soon,' said Fuji. He hadn't asked where Tezuka's father was, but he looked into the past and had seen the man had fallen ill. 'Seeing the look on your face you wish he was here to help us.'

'I do,' answered Tezuka. 'I don't like to take over his job already. Everybody thinks I'm still way too young for that.'

The doctor had told Tezuka Kuniharu to stay in bed for a few days. He had a fever and once that was down and he felt better he could go back to work. Until then Tezuka had to take over most of his jobs. The sick man really minded it that he couldn't help his son and the King to find the new Queen. Instead he told his son all the things he had to pay attention to. Together they had made an entire list, an even longer one then when they had chosen Tachibana Ann as Queen. There was no time for a third Queen, this had to be the right one.

When the King entered the room everybody stood up. He walked to his throne and on his way he nodded to Tezuka and Fuji. He hardly even looked at the girls, but they didn't really seem to notice. Almost all of them were blushing and some were giggling. The King was in his thirties, but he was looking very good. They didn't seem to notice he wasn't in the best of moods. Tezuka and Fuji both noticed and prayed that his would end well.

'Sit, sit,' the King said to the girls as he sat down himself. 'So, let's see what we got here today. I'm going to have a little chat with all of you. Alone.'

Some girls started squealing when they heard those words, but the King raised his hand and they became quiet again. They didn't want to have a bad start with their potential husband.

'These two men are my advisor and my Seer. They will help me with making this decision, so they will be around when I talk to all of you separately. They know what kind of woman I am looking for, so do not try to impress me with your body too much, they will be watching.'

'Sounds like he learned a little from last time,' whispered Fuji softly. He and Tezuka watched as all the girls were taken away to another room. They approached the King and showed him their list of points. He read it and told them which points were the most important and which they could forget about. The two of them could see that he King had changed the last few years and even more by the incident with Duke Sengoku. He was more serious about his future wife now. He didn't care anymore if the girls were virgins or not, nor did he care if they were blond, brunette or if they had black hair.

Tezuka went to get the first girl. She wasn't a 'girl' anymore, she was in her late twenties, so she was a woman. Most of these women had already been married, but their husbands had passed away or they had broken up with him. One of them had been ill and never had been strong enough to start a family, but she had healed and wanted a relationship.

One by one they explained their reasons they wanted to marry the King. Hardly any of them lied this time. It made Fuji's job easier. He didn't really like to expose lies of other people, because they always had a reason to hide the truth and those reasons were never pleasant. A few girls lied about their age, but that was because they were so much younger than the King and they wanted to show that they were mature enough to become the Queen.

Of course there were still girls that tried to show off their good looks. They were wearing low cut dresses or really short ones. The King couldn't keep his eyes away from them, but Tezuka and Fuji could see he was really trying his best to have a normal conversation with them.

'I think he really learned from last time,' said Tezuka when he had brought the last girl back to the other room. The King had already left the room. He was on his way to the dining room where a servant would also take all the girls for lunch. 'He doesn't seem to prefer the flirty, sexy and half naked girls over the normal girls anymore.'

Fuji shrugged. 'I can't really tell. There are a few different futures and all include a different girl. He might not have changed as much as we thought and hoped.'

'That would be very disappointing,' Tezuka sighed. 'We have to make sure he will make a good decision.'

'We won't disappoint your father,' smiled Fuji. He knew Tezuka wanted to make his father proud. He put his list on the table and they compared them to Tezuka's list. They were very much alike, so it wasn't too hard for them to pick a few favorites. After that they went to the dining room as well to have lunch. In the dining room for the servants that is, because they weren't welcome to join the King and the women for lunch this time. It was probably because Tezuka Kuniharu wasn't there, but Tezuka and Fuji didn't mind. It gave them more time to discuss the girls without anybody hearing them.

When they all returned to the room everybody was exited, because the King would announce which girl he liked the most. Tezuka and Fuji hoped they could talk to him alone first, so they could try to find out which one was his favorite and if necessary they could try to change his mind. Luckily for them he did talk to them before he would tell the girls which of them was the lucky one.

The girls were once again waiting in the other room when the King took Tezuka and Fuji aside to hear their opinions. They handed him their list with names and he handed them the list he made. They read them and found out they were completely different.

'I don't want a wife that will speak up to me,' said the King. 'I don't want them to betray me again and they will if they get the opportunity, so I want a girl who will listen to me, no matter what will happen. I want a woman who will look up to me and who will do anything I ask her to do.'

'You're talking about a servant, Your Majesty,' said Fuji. 'They are here to do anything you ask them to do and to listen to you, no matter what. But you're picking a wife. Don't you want her to be different from a servant? You're not trying to find a slave, you are trying to find yourself a wife that you will spend the rest of your life with.'

Fuji had spoken, because Tezuka didn't do it, even though it was his job to advise to King. He knew he had said too much, but he didn't want things to go this way. He didn't want one of those girls to feel unhappy for the rest of her life, while the King didn't care about her and did whatever he wanted to do.

King Atobe was seriously angry because of Fuji's words. But at least he had started thinking about his choice and that was the most important for Fuji.

'Alright, let's compromise,' he said. 'I will not choose the dumb girl with the big boobs, but I'm not marrying that girl that knew everything better than anybody else. She is annoying, she talked to much and was fake friendly. I have experience with such women and I did not like it.'

Fuji felt bad for the Queen. She hadn't been like that at all. Her friendliness had been real and she didn't talk too much at all. Maybe with her maids, but not when the King was around. She wouldn't have dared to.

'I will pick this girl instead,' continued the King. He pointed at a name on the list.

Tezuka and Fuji's eyes opened wide. This was something they hadn't expected to happen. It was a name that was almost at the end of their list, but not because she was dumb, flirty or way too talkative. She was incredibly shy.

'Why her, Your Majesty?' Fuji asked. At the same time he was searching through the girls past and her future. 'Her father is an important man, but her mother is the teacher at the little school within the walls of the castle.'

'I know that,' said the King. 'But she was raised by her father, so I'm sure it will be fine. She has manners. Maybe she became like this because her mother is of no importance. She didn't have an attitude like most of the other girls.'

She didn't have any attitude at all, Fuji agreed with that, but she didn't have anything else either. She was boring.

'You don't mind that she is very shy?' Fuji asked. 'So shy that she stuttered the entire time she was here with you. She blushed every time you said something to her and she stayed at least two meters away from you the entire time. You really don't mind that?'

'What is your point, Seer?' asked the King angry. 'I thought you always thought it was important to let commoners into the castle, so we could learn about the world outside! A commoner like you! Want me to pick the big boobed full nobility girl instead? Or shall I let the guard throw you out of the castle?'

'No, Your Majesty,' said Fuji while he bowed. 'I do not wish either of that, I just want to see you happy, that is all. I want to be sure this is the girl you want to marry.'

'Be sure already, because I'm not going to pick another girl,' the most important man of the country answered. 'All she has to do is give me a son. For my pleasure or for talking I will go to somebody else, I don't need a wife who can do all kind of great things. She has to shut up and bare me a son!' With that said the King stormed out of the room.

'But, Your Majesty,' started Fuji again. The door opened again and the furious eyes looked at the Seer.

'I do think you should pick another wife, for everybody's sake.'

'One more word and I will personally chop your head off!' shouted the King before he slammed the door shut.

Fuji looked at Tezuka. They both sighed. They were the ones who would have to bring the news to the girls and to Tezuka's father. Neither would be easy.

'I'll tell the girls, could you please tell my father?' asked Tezuka.

Fuji shook his head. 'You will have to tell the girls, but you will have to tell your father as well. Don't worry, he won't be angry. And I'll come with you, if that is worth anything.'

'Thank you,' said Tezuka.

Together they walked to the room where the girls were waiting. They all became quiet the moment the door opened and Tezuka and Fuji entered. Completely different than the first time that happened this day.

'It was a difficult decision for His Majesty, the King, but he has chosen his new wife,' said Tezuka. 'The girl who will become the next Queen is Sakuno-san.'

All the girls started to protest or cry or scream. They did not agree to this and all of them had their own reasons for not agreeing. Tezuka lifted his hand to make them shut up. It worked, although it took a few moments.

'I'm very sorry for all the others who were not chose, but I thank you very much for coming, the King enjoyed your company. You can all stay for dinner if you want, but if you would prefer to leave, these servants will lead you to your horse or carriage. Sakuno-san, you can also leave if you want, you will receive a letter with more information soon. You will get to stay here at the castle for a few weeks before your marriage, so you can get to know his Majesty a little better. But you can stay with your family until you are being asked for.'

The girl nodded. She was twenty-eight, but she looked like she was sixteen and she also behaved like that. She didn't dare to speak to the two men in front of her. As soon as she could she left, while a lot of the other girls started to talk to each other again about the strange decision the King had made.

'I really don't understand why he chose her,' sighed Fuji as they left the room and went to visit Tezuka's father on the second floor. 'He really just wants her to bare him and son without complaining, because she is the only one of the girls who wouldn't dare to complain to him. Or to say anything to him at all. I wonder if he will manage to get her in his bed. She is probably too shy for that as well. I don't like to see such things, but she is still a virgin.'

Tezuka had a small smile on his face. 'You really mind it that he chose her, don't you?'

'I do,' sighed Fuji. 'For a lot of reasons. I tried everything to change his mind, but he didn't want to listen at all.'

'Let it be,' said Tezuka. 'There is nothing you can do about it and there is nothing you can do to help her. She will have to learn to live with him and he will probably have to learn to live with her as well.'

'I don't think so,' said Fuji. 'He will do whatever he wants. I feel sorry for her.'

Tezuka knocked on the door of his parents room and when he heard his father's reply he entered. Fuji joined him as well and they told him the outcome of the day. Fuji didn't say anything about how much he disliked it that the King had chosen this woman, but Tezuka Kuniharu noticed it anyway.

'You two did whatever you could,' he said. 'The King is a stubborn men. You two did well. Sorry I couldn't help you.'

'It's fine,' said Tezuka. 'You should get better soon, so you can help when she will come back to get used to the life here. She will have a hard time and she will need all the help she can get.'

After talking a little more Tezuka and Fuji left the sick man alone again, so he could sleep.

'Want to go outside for a while?' Tezuka asked. The King probably didn't want to see either of them at the moment, still pissed about what happened before, so they had some time for themselves.

'I'm sorry,' said Fuji. 'I have to talk to sensei first now.'


	22. Chapter 22

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **22  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **3332 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 22**

I had been a year and a half since the King had married his second wife. They didn't see each other often and Fuji knew the Queen was suffering. She wasn't allowed to go outside on her own. Even when she was walking around inside the castle she needed her maid by her side. The King was trying to prevent perverts from taking her the way Duke Sengoku had done to his first wife.

Queen Sakuno hardly left her room, only for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even then she often said she wasn't feeling good enough to join her husband. Whenever Fuji saw her he tried to talk to her a little, but she always cut their conversations short, so she could leave again. It made the Seer felt guilty, because he had allowed the King to pick that girl. He should have stopped the King, even if it would have cost him his head. Some things were more important than others.

Not only the Queen was acting strange towards the Seer, but the King as well, especially in the beginning. He didn't call for Fuji at all the first few weeks, until he had something important to ask him, but he acted cold towards both Fuji and Tezuka. Fuji had apologized to his friend. It was his fault the King was acting like that towards Tezuka as well.

But now, one and a half year later things were almost like normal again. The King was pissed off and he wanted Fuji to give an explanation for things he didn't really know either.

'Why is my wife not pregnant yet?' asked the King as soon as Fuji entered the room. The Seer could see Tezuka wasn't really feeling comfortable either. He was standing behind the throne, but further away than he normally did. It showed in what kind of mood the King was at the moment.

Fuji bowed for the King before he answered. 'I can't really tell, since it's not something you can see in the past or the future. Should I call the doctor and ask him for help?'

'No!' said the King angry. 'He is a useless man. He has already taken a look, but he doesn't know what is wrong. I told him to piss off and never to come back, so you won't be able to find him around here anymore.'

Fuji wanted to sigh. They really needed the doctor around the castle. There were quite a lot of accidents and nobody else could help in such situations. He reminded himself to ask the man to come back or to find another doctor.

'I slept with her every week since we got married!' King Atobe continued. 'Every damn week! I didn't want to, but I had no choice. It was the most boring thing ever and she still isn't pregnant. I'm not planning to do this for another few years, so tell me why she isn't carrying a child already!'

Fuji searched through the future, her future and his future, but there was no child, in none of those futures. That wasn't a reason why she wasn't pregnant, but Fuji tried his very best to find something he could give as an explanation.

'What is taking you so long, Seer?!' asked the King impatient.

'You wanted an answer to an impossible question!' answered Fuji. 'It will take time. I have to search through her past and futures that could have been if you had not chosen her or futures where you had chosen someone else. It takes time!'

He turned away from the King a little, so he could concentrate better. His mind ran through all different futures and then he finally found a future where Queen Sakuno did have a child, but it was a future where she was not the Queen. She was married to a man in the village where she was raised and she seemed to be very happy. She had a few children walking around and her husband loved and adored her. It would have been a better place for the shy woman.

'She can have children,' said Fuji slowly. 'She is fertile, so that is not the problem.'

Fuji hesitated with telling the rest of the story. He knew the King was going to get even more angry at him, even though he was only the messenger.

'But I've searched through all different futures for you, Your Majesty, but in none of them you will have a son. I have seen you with plenty of different women, but none of them will get pregnant. I'm very sorry I can't give you any better news than this.'

'What if I sleep with all the women in the castle. No, all the women who could have become my wife? I can make them my mistresses and one of them will get pregnant. Even if they give me a daughter, I could make her marry a fine man and make sure she will get a son who can succeed me!'

Fuji looked at the floor. 'I'm very sorry, Your Majesty, no matter how many women you will bring to the castle, none of them will get pregnant. You cannot have children of your own.'

Suddenly the King jumped up from his throne and ran towards Fuji. He grabbed him by his throat and started to hit him with his other hand. Fuji couldn't do anything to stop him. The King was taller and stronger and even if Fuji could hit the King in return, he would get caught by the guards and get killed.

He let the hands do whatever they wanted. He hardly got any air and when a knee ended up in his stomach he didn't have any air left at all. He fell on the floor, but the King didn't leave him alone yet. The Seer prepared himself for the fist that was aimed at him, but it never came. Tezuka was holding the King's arms, preventing him from doing any more damage.

'Your Majesty!' shouted Tezuka. 'You cannot kill him! He only answered the questions you asked him. He gave you the answers that you wanted to hear. He cannot help it that you might not get an heir!'

'Ever since he came here we have misfortune!' shouted the King back, struggling to get out of Tezuka's strong grip. But Tezuka was stronger than the King and he made sure he couldn't escape. 'He brought misfortune! Bad luck ever since he came here, he made me like this! He made me unfertile!'

'You know that is not true!' said Tezuka back. 'He made the castle rich, not just the castle, the entire country! He helped you with his advises to make this country bloom! He worked for you, even when he was still a child, so don't give me the crap that he ruined our country or your life! He did everything to make life more pleasant for you, but you always want more!'

The King stopped struggling and Tezuka's grip loosened. The King pulled away and walked back to his throne. He called Tezuka Kuniharu and asked him how many of the girls that had been there to become his Queen were still unmarried. Normally Tezuka would join his father and help him to find out about it, but right now he had other things on his mind. He kneeled down next to Fuji and asked him if he was alright.

Fuji showed a weak smile and asked Tezuka if he looked alright. It was all Tezuka needed to know to understand that Fuji was hurt, but that he was doing well enough to make jokes.

'Can you stand?' he asked his friend.

The Seer shook his head. The King had kicked his knee and it hurt a lot. He couldn't get up on his own. Tezuka helped him up, but they noticed that standing on that leg was difficult. Tezuka supported him as they left the room together.

As soon as the door closed behind them tears started to run down Fuji's cheeks. Tezuka stopped walking, lifted his friend in his arms and quickly made his way through the halls until he was in Fuji's room. There he put him down on his bed. He gave the Seer his handkerchief to dry his tears.

'Don't move,' said Tezuka. 'I'm going to get some things to treat your wounds.' He quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. The doctor wasn't around, because he was sent away by the King, so Tezuka had to treat Fuji himself. Mostly scratches and bruises, but he had to make sure there were no broken bones or anything.

He searched through the doctors room for anything useful. He found something that looked like a first aid kit. It contained all the things he would probably need, so he took it back to Fuji's room. The Seer was still on his bed. There were no more tears, but his eyes were a little red. He smiled when Tezuka entered the room again.

Tezuka helped him to sit up and carefully cleaned the cuts and deep scratches. There were a few on Fuji's face and Tezuka wanted them to heal nicely, so they wouldn't leave any scars. Everybody was always praising the Seer for his beauty. Fuji acted like he couldn't care, but Tezuka knew he was proud of it and that he tried his best to keep looking good, especially when he had to dress up as a Seer.

Fuji was in pain every time Tezuka touched one of the wounds, but he just bit his lips or tongue. He refused to make any sounds.

'What about the rest of your body?' Tezuka asked when he was done with Fuji's face and neck. There were bruises on Fuji's neck, from the King's fingers, but Tezuka couldn't do anything about those. They would have to heal on their own.

Tezuka helped Fuji to take off his cloak and his shirt. His shirt had ripped in a few places and there were scratches on his chest and arms as well. Some more cuts as well.

'How did he make those cuts?' Tezuka asked.

'His rings,' Fuji answered. The King was always wearing a few rings and one of them was a bit sharp, it had cut through his skin and made him bleed. King Atobe had probably had in on purpose, for situations like this.

'Do you want me to take a look at your knee as well?' Tezuka asked when he helped Fuji into a clean shirt.

Fuji hesitated. He didn't like how much his friend was worrying about him, it was not like Tezuka at all. But he could see that Tezuka wanted to do something for him after what happened. Tezuka couldn't stand it when people were treated like this, when they were blamed for something they couldn't do anything about.

Without waiting for an answer Tezuka carefully pulled Fuji's pants off. The Seer's knee was turning blue already and the spaces that weren't blue were bright red.

'I think the doctor should look at it,' Tezuka said. 'I don't think it's broken or anything, but it looks painful and he can tell you how long you will have to rest. Can you tell me where I can find the doctor?'

'He is still in the city,' Fuji answered. 'In the little hotel close to the river.'

Tezuka left the room and went to get someone who could go to the doctor. He couldn't leave the castle himself, but if he could, he would have done so. He wanted to be sure the man would come back. The doctor really liked Fuji, so if he had to return for him, he might come back.

'T ell the doctor Fuji-kun needs him,' Tezuka told the servant before he went back to Fuji's room once again. He found the Seer sitting against the wall, still in bed.

'Be careful when you move around,' warned Tezuka. He didn't want Fuji to hurt himself. 'I sent someone to get the doctor. I hope he will come to take a look at you.'

'Stop worrying already, Tezuka,' smiled Fuji. 'It hurts, but I'm not going to die, so relax already. You did everything you could and I'm very grateful that you saved me from the King. He would have killed me if you hadn't stopped him. Nobody else dared to do that, you were the only one who was brave enough.'

Tezuka blushed a little. He turned around to get the chair and hoped his cheeks had their original color back when he sat down next to the bed. 'You're welcome,' he said. 'Is the King really infertile?'

Fuji nodded. 'You think I would get myself into such trouble for something that isn't true. I couldn't think of anything else, I would have lied if I could, but there was only one answer to this question and it was only fair the King got to know the truth. It's sad, but nobody can do anything about it. The future is not going to change this fact.'

'I understand he was angry,' said Tezuka. 'As an only son you feel like you have to produce an heir. The King doesn't have his parents anymore, but he is getting older, so I guess he feels the pressure anyway.'

'Do you feel pressured to produce an heir?' Fuji asked his friend.

'A little,' said Tezuka. 'I know my father would really like it if I could have a son. But I'm twenty-two already. I know I should hurry and find myself a girlfriend already.'

'You still have time,' said Fuji. 'But even if you don't get a son, the world wouldn't end. You should worry about becoming happy, that is more important. It's different for a King. If he doesn't have an heir they will have to find a solution for the non-existing heir. Although in the case with King Atobe it should be different as well.'

'Why?' asked Tezuka.

'He was never meant to be King,' said Fuji. 'His father wasn't meant to be King. The father of King Atobe killed the King we had before him. I don't think anybody knows. The Atobe family was one of the most important families that helped the royal family with ruling the country, but they wanted more. The King was killed and because he didn't have any children yet the father of King Atobe took his place. Everybody accepted it, thinking the old King died because of illness. The old King Atobe died at a rather young age as well, so our recent King had to take over when he was still really young. He doesn't have any siblings and he can't have children himself. It's almost like it's fate. Their family probably wasn't meant to rule this country, so the family members get punished. A sad story.'

'Does the old King, the one who was supposed to be King, have any family members?' asked Tezuka. 'He didn't have children, but did he have any other family members? A cousin or something?'

Fuji shook his head. 'No, that makes things more difficult, ne? Two families are known as the royal family, but neither of them can take care of the next generation. Either King Atobe has to make sure he will find someone to take his place, otherwise we will have to find someone when he dies.'

'How can we pick a new King when nobody really has the right to take that position?' Tezuka asked.

'I don't know either, but at the moment there is nothing we can do anyway. If I would try to tell anyone the King will have my head,' said Fuji. 'He won't believe me, no matter what. One day we will have to choose a new King and we will be able to make things right again.'

'It's strange that everybody accepted the Atobe family as the new royal family without any trouble,' said Tezuka. 'I don't understand.'

'Everyone was grieving, the country had to be ruled, the head of the Atobe family took care of that and when everyone felt better they had already accepted him as the new ruler of the country. He played it well.'

'We should find a way to get this public,' said Tezuka. He hated injustice and the fact that he had been ordered around by a man who wasn't supposed to be King made him a little angry.

'I will try,' said Fuji. 'I've waited for the right moment for years already, but it hasn't come yet. I don't want to be thrown out of the castle. I won't have any friends or family who can help me, nor any skills that I can use to earn money. We have to be careful with bringing this up. I'm the only one who knows for sure that this is going on. If I'm gone there will never be two witnesses to confirm what is happening here.'

'Does the King know he doesn't have any right to the throne?' Tezuka asked.

'He does,' Fuji said. 'I think his father told him before he died. If he wouldn't know it could be dangerous. Now that the King knows he has been able to prepare himself, in case someone will bring it up. He will have his answers ready.'

'So we can only wait,' sighed Tezuka.

Fuji smiled. 'You really dislike waiting, don't you? You're a man of action. But I can't do much at the moment. My body hurts. But you should know that I'm working on it, even though I don't look like it. I've been searching for a long time already to find people who know about this as well and who could be the second witness in this case. I've searched through thousands of pasts and I'm getting closer.'

'Can you tell me anything about it?'

'No,' said Fuji. 'I can't tell you anything yet, I'm sorry. It could be dangerous. I don't think you will accidently spill it, but I don't know what is the truth yet and I don't want to tell you lies. I'll ask for your help when I need it, alright?'

Tezuka didn't seem to be happy with it, but when he wanted to reply there was a knock on the door. The King's advisor opened it and found the doctor on the other side.

'I came as soon as I heard you were injured, Fuji-kun,' said the Doctor. 'What happened to you?!'

Fuji shortly explained what had happened. The Doctor sighed. He understood. The King wasn't an easy man to work with. He took a look at Fuji's knee and after that at the other wounds as well.

'You treated them well, Tezuka-kun,' he said. 'The small cuts will all heal within a few weeks, within days you can do whatever you want again. Your knee is bruised, but that is all. Nothing is damaged, you will probably be able to walk normally again in about two days. You should rest until then. I'm sure Tezuka-kun won't mind bringing you some food three times a day.'

Tezuka shook his head and said he would do that.

'Thank you Doctor,' said Fuji. 'For coming back for me. Will you stay at the castle or will you leave again?'

'I'll take my leave again,' said the man. 'I don't want to work here anymore until this King is gone and a better one has taken his place. I cannot work with him. But if you or anybody else ever needs me you can always call for me. I don't mind helping the people I worked with for so long. You will know where I live, right?'

'Yeah,' smiled Fuji. 'I will find out if you move.'

'Good, I hope we won't have to see each other often, so you will all be healthy. I wish you the best of luck.'


	23. Chapter 23

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **23  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **2464 words  
**Rating: **PG-15  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

**Warning:** Well, there is some sexual content. Just talking about it, nothing really happens. But Tezuka is pretty OOC, sorry about that.

* * *

**Chapter 23**

'No, you're tall an broad!' laughed Fuji. 'Don't worry about that, I'm sure a lot of people will like the way you look. I sure do!'

He was talking to one of a mailman at the back door. The door was only used by the staff, but most staff members weren't allowed to go outside, so it was hardly used at all. Fuji wasn't allowed to go outside either, but the mailman, of course, could come and go whenever he wanted. Fuji had seen the man a few times and he had spoken with him now and then, but never like this.

'But look at my arms, no muscles at all!' said the guy as he squeezed his upper arms.

Fuji laughed again and showed his own upper arms. There were a lot thinner than the ones of the mailman. No muscles at all.

'Really, what are you complaining about?' asked Fuji. 'I'm supposed to be a man, but I have such a feminine body! You shouldn't complain, compared to me you are so muscular!'

'But your femininity is your charm point!' said the mailman. 'You should be proud of it and make good use of it! I'm sure you can charm both women and men and make them do whatever you want!'

'Men wouldn't want me,' said Fuji. 'They want pretty ladies with big boobs and long legs. I don't have either. Why would any man like me?'

'The mailman bend forward a little. 'I'm into girls, I love the big boobs and long legs too, but I would be able to spend a very wonderful night with you,' he whispered.

Fuji blushed a little. He looked away from the mailman and acted like he was shy.

'Every man would get turned on if they would get to see that cute blushing face of yours. I'm sure you get any man you wanted! Give them what they want and they will give you what you want!'

Fuji acted like he was shocked. 'I would never spread my legs for just any man! You think I'm like that? I can do things on my own, I don't need the help of stronger or more powerful guys!'

'I didn't mean that,' said the mailman quickly. 'Showing them your cute blushing cheeks with that sexy look in your eyes would be enough to give them sleepless nights for weeks. That is all you have to do to make them do anything for you!'

'Would you do anything for me?' Fuji asked, giving the sexy look the other guy had been talking about.

The mailman laughed. 'I would, I would for sure.' The rest of his words were a soft whisper again. 'If you let me jerk off while thinking of you every night.'

Fuji gave the other a friendly punch against his upper arm. 'Like I can stop you from doing that!'

'True, you can't,' answered the other. 'But if you would ask something big of me I would want to do it while you are watching me with that fierce blue eyes. I'm sure I could do it more than once then. The only pleasure bigger than that would be actually doing it with you.'

'Are you trying to seduce me?' asked Fuji playful. 'You pervert. No lady would be charmed by such words. I might be a guy, but I do not like such words either!'

'You don't look like you dislike it!' grinned the mailman.

'Fuji, you're needed,' sounded a voice behind them.

The Seer turned around and the mailman looked up. Tezuka stood there, holding a box in his arms. The mailman looked angry at Tezuka and Tezuka glared back at him. Fuji's grin grew wider every second.

'I'll help then,' said Fuji. He turned back to the mailman and smiled at him. 'Don't forget to deliver my letter, alright? See you later!'

'I sure hope so!' smiled the mailman before he walked through the door and left.

'What was that about?' Tezuka asked. The angry look hadn't disappeared from his face.

'I'm not allowed to send any letters,' explained Fuji. 'So I flirted with the mailman a little and made him take my letter anyway. He was telling me I could get everything done if I would show my sexy face to someone. But he was stupid enough to fall for the trick himself. Or maybe he wanted to be tricked. He said I could make every man dream of me or let them have sleepless nights because of me. He is one of them now.'

'The things he was saying to you were too much,' said Tezuka.

'I know,' answered Fuji. 'But I couldn't stop him from saying that. I tried to make him leave already, but he stayed and talked. I thought I could never get rid of him. So thank you for helping me out there. Who needs my help and what for?'

'Nobody needs your help,' said Tezuka.

'You lied?!' asked Fuji, more shocked that Tezuka was capable of lying than that he was angry that he was being lied to. 'Why? Did you want to get rid of the mailman so badly?'

'I wanted to stop that conversation before he would go even further and touch you or something like that,' said Tezuka. He has started walking, taking the box to wherever it belonged.

'Oh, you wanted to protect me?' Fuji laughed. 'Thank you for that, Mr. Knight in shining armor! Or were you just jealous of him, because I was flirting back?'

Tezuka blushed. He started to walk faster so Fuji wouldn't see it. The Seer had to run a little to keep up with him. 'I was right, wasn't I? Your cheeks are red! I was right!'

Angrily Tezuka suddenly stopped walking. Fuji bumped almost into him. 'So what if I'm jealous, it's not like you care!'

He walked away again, even quicker than before. He stormed through the hall, up the stairs to the second floor. He walked to his room, opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. He put the box on the floor and sat down on his bed.

Fuji was flabbergasted. He ran after Tezuka, but his friend was a lot quicker. Luckily he knew where Tezuka was heading to. He followed him and knocked on the closed door. When he didn't get a reply he just opened the door, stepped in and closed it behind him again.

'I do care,' he said. 'I've known you for so long. You were always the one who helped me out, of course I care.'

He sat down on the bed, next to the King's advisor. He just stared at the wall, just like Tezuka was doing. They sat there for a few minutes before Tezuka spoke.

'Why did you ever become friends with me?' he asked. 'You could have been friends with everybody. They all adored you, especially Kikumaru and Saeki, but you always came to eat lunch and dinner with me when we were still in school. Even when I was working here already and you were still in school. You could have spent your time with your friends instead of with me.'

'But you were my friend too,' said Fuji. 'I looked up at you. You were tall, strong and really cool. You were, and you still are, much more serious than the others, but that makes you more reliable. When I first arrived here at the castle you showed me around. I didn't know what to think of you, or of the other kids in our class. I didn't know who I should become friend with, so I looked into the future. I searched through my different futures and there were good friends in all of them, but you were the only one that appeared in every single one of them. That is why I wanted to be your friend. You would still be there when I would be all grown up, while most of the others would have other people in their lives who were more important to them. You see it, now that Saeki is married I have hardly seen him. I'm not so important anymore. But you're not like that.'

'So based on the future you befriended me?' Tezuka asked.

'Not just that. If I hadn't liked you I wouldn't have stayed around you for so many years already. Remember when we had chosen the second Queen. We talked about how hard it is to find a partner for somebody else. You said you wouldn't know who to pick for me, because I had strange tastes.'

'I remember,' said Tezuka. 'You said that the man you liked could be offended if I said that.'

Fuji grinned. 'I did. But my taste is not that strange. Even back then I had fallen for a very handsome and very smart man. I'm sure you don't think he is strange!'

Tezuka looked at his friend. 'Who is it?' he asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know, because there was a big chance he knew the person Fuji liked.

'You of course,' answered the Seer, his smile never disappearing. 'Who else?'

Tezuka blinked a few times, not believing what Fuji told him. 'You do have strange taste then,' he said. 'Why do you fall for a man like me when you get any man you want?'

'Why would I want anybody else?' Fuji laughed. 'Like I said, you are handsome and smart! But you're also tall, strong, caring, honest, reliable and you have a great sense of justice. What else could I possible ask for?'

'Someone who will do fun things with you, someone you can talk to?' Tezuka asked.

'I can talk to you! I'm talking to you now, right? And nobody could really take me out to do fun things. We're all locked up within these walls. So tell me, if you were jealous, does that mean you didn't like me flirting with the mailman because you like me yourself?'

'I'm not sure,' answered Tezuka.

'Then think about it,' said the Seer. 'Are there things you would want to do with me you would never want to do with anybody else?'

Tezuka blushed bright red again. Fuji laughed. 'I was talking about dates, spending evenings hugging and talking and feeding me food when I'm ill.'

'I wouldn't mind that when it's you.'

'Would you might if it's one of your other friends?' Fuji asked.

'Oishi?' Tezuka asked.

'For example.'

'I wouldn't be able to do that with Oishi. He is friendly, but…'

'No need to tell me, I'm just very glad to hear that,' smiled Fuji. 'You are the only one who is allowed to wrap his arms around me and hold me. Nobody else can touch me.'

Tezuka looked at the Seer, wondering if he was expecting something from him. The smile on Fuji's face never changed. When Tezuka didn't move, Fuji wrapped his arms around Tezuka's waist. Tezuka stiffened, but when Fuji told him to relax, he did so and wrapped his arms around Fuji's shoulders.

After a few moments Fuji moved away. 'See, you like me too,' he said. 'So don't worry when I'm flirting to the mailman again. I only do that to get something done. You have always been the only one I like.'

The Seer stood up and pressed a kiss on Tezuka's nose. 'Please remember that. You don't have to give me an answer now, I understand you want to think about it. Since we probably can't have a relationship like anybody else. I wouldn't mind giving up my ability for you, but I would get kicked out of the castle. I prefer being here with you and do nothing else than kissing than that I would make love to you and hardly being able to see you anymore.'

'I hadn't even thought about that,' said Tezuka a bit confused. He didn't know what to think anymore. His emotions and hormones were running through his body and he couldn't think straight anymore.

'Take your time,' smiled Fuji. He turned around and walked out of the room. He knew he was being selfish, wanting Tezuka to give up a wonderful love live to spend the rest of his life with him, someone who could never satisfy him. But he wanted to be selfish. He wanted to be loved. Not by anyone, but by this man.

The happy smile changed into a sad smile. The Seer already regretted the things he had said and done. He had made Tezuka confused. Tezuka was a man who didn't want to disappoint people and he might feel forced to say 'yes' and start a relationship with Fuji. That is not something the Seer wanted. He wanted it to be real.

He arrived at the stairs and was ready to walk down when he heard someone call his name. Surprised he turned around and saw Tezuka running through the hall way.

'Is something wrong?' Fuji asked. He had never seen Tezuka with such an expression.

'No, nothing is wrong, something is good,' the young advisor of the King said. 'You and I are good. We've been together for so many years and I always enjoyed spending time with you and if we could add kissing to that I would be happy. But we never did anything more than that and I've been happy, so why would I miss it in the future? You can't have it, so I don't need it either. I'd rather be happy with you in a relationship without sex than that I will search for a girl who can give me sex and children, but who I can't enjoy it with.'

Fuji's blue eyes widened. 'Are you sure?'

'Would I tell you this if I wasn't sure?'

Fuji grinned. 'No, you're not the type to tell lies or say things he doesn't mean. I like that about you.'

'Just that?' joked Tezuka.

'Hmm, maybe another thing or two, like your very handsome face and the hottest body around the castle?'

'That sounds better,' the bespectacled man answered, trying not to blush once more when hearing those words.

'So, why would you chose me instead of a hot girl or a sexy boy?' Fuji asked.

'Apart from your mesmerizing eyes you have the most beautiful face I have ever seen. Almost like an angel, while your personality can get very twisted, which does not make you an angel, but which makes you the most interesting person in my life.'

Fuji smiled. 'I wouldn't want you to get bored!'

Laughing they went downstairs together. Most people knew the two of them were close friends, but whoever saw them walking together wondered why they were looking both so happy today.


	24. Chapter 24

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **24  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **4067 words  
**Rating: **PG-15  
******Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

The Chapter where everyone is OOC.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

'What is that woman doing here?' asked Tezuka to Fuji, who was the only one who could give him an answer. The girl that was waiting in the hall was obviously a prostitute. If she was not, she definitely dressed like one. A servant had told the King she had arrived and he had send Tezuka to get her. On his way he had walked into his boyfriend and had asked Fuji to come along to answer his questions.

'The King wants to know if he can make someone pregnant,' Fuji whispered. 'He doesn't seem to care who it is. Or maybe he does care. He doesn't want to make a girl from a nobility pregnant while they aren't married. He has to be careful with his relationships with the Dukes and Earls.'

'So he hires these kind of girls?' Tezuka asked.

'Yes, it's not the first time,' the Seer answered. 'Even before he knew he was infertile he already asked for such women now and then. Before he was married it was even worse. He might have become infertile because one of them was carrying some illness. But I can't say for sure and I can't say I'm really interested in finding out.'

'I don't want to know either,' said Tezuka. 'This way please, madam,' he said to the girl. He wondered how old she was. She couldn't be older than twenty. But this was the King they were talking about. He could do anything he liked.

Tezuka brought the girl to the King's rooms and left as quickly as he could. Fuji had been waiting for him, watching him from a distance.

'You don't seem to be affected by such a good looking woman in such…. clothes.'

'Were you making sure I wouldn't touch her?' Tezuka asked, wondering if Fuji was jealous. 'Why would I be affected by something like her when I have you?'

'I wasn't checking if you were cheating on me,' said Fuji. 'I wanted to talk to you a bit more. You're taking more and more jobs from your father and you're slowly becoming the most important person when it comes to advising the King. What he is doing now is not going to help him. He can ask for as many women as he want, but none of them will get pregnant. I know it's not something easy to bring up with him, but maybe when he is in a good mood you can talk to him about it? You remember what happened last time I tried.'

The Seer still had a few scars from that day and he didn't want any new ones. He wanted his skin to be perfect now that he had a boyfriend.

'I'll talk to him in the afternoon,' said Tezuka. 'There is another meeting with the Dukes and Earls about the heirloom, so it might be a good moment. I won't be on my own then either.'

'Good,' smiled Fuji. 'I'll see you there then. If all the Dukes and Earls are coming to talk about this with the King I will probably have to be there too. But I can't be your knight in shining armor, so make sure you won't get hurt.'

'I won't get hurt, just stay out of the way,' said Tezuka. 'I wouldn't want the King to turn his anger to you instead of me. I don't want you to get hurt again.'

He kissed Fuji shortly on the lips. He was still a little shy when it came to showing affection, but he did want to try and show Fuji that he really cared. The Seer didn't mind at all. He loved every little step Tezuka took forward.

'Did I miss a memo?' sounded a voice from behind them. Quickly they turned around. Tezuka Kuniharu stood behind them, a smirk on his normally so serious face. Fuji had never saw the man smile before, let alone smirk. But he liked it, so he grinned back. Tezuka looked like he was wishing the earth would spontaneously open up and swallow him right here, right now. It didn't happen though.

'Not for a very long time yet,' said Fuji. 'We weren't sure when to tell. I guess you can understand why that is, ne?'

'I do, but I'm not angry. I think we were all waiting for it to happen. But I wish the best of luck to the two of you. I'm glad you found such a nice and intelligent son in law for me, Kunimitsu. Do you want me to talk to your mother about it?'

'Please,' said Tezuka.

'No problem,' said the father. 'She'll be glad to hear that her son has found happiness.'

When the man was gone, Fuji patted Tezuka's arm and gave him a friendly smile. 'You did well and your parents don't mind. Well, at least your father doesn't mind. Your problems are solved, you should be happy now.'

'You knew I was worried?' Tezuka asked.

'Of course, I can see it,' said Fuji. 'Even without looking the your future or past.'

'Can you see that I'm happy now?' the advisor of the King asked.

'Not completely,' said Fuji. 'Maybe something to prove it?'

Tezuka bend forward and gave Fuji another kiss on the lips, a little longer than last time when they were caught by his father. He had nothing to hide anymore.

'That made me really happy as well,' said Fuji.

They both went their own way. Tezuka went to greet the Dukes and Earls that were early and who he had to accompany for lunch, since the King was a little busy at the moment. Fuji went to have lunch in the dining area of the servants before he started to prepare himself for the fight he would have with the King later in the afternoon. No matter what would happen, there was a fight in every future.

It was only a few hours later that the fight actually started. Fuji entered the room with the big round table. He was happily greeted by everyone, everyone but the King. The important man didn't even look at him.

'You're late, again!' said the King. 'You keep slacking more and more often. Do you want to be kicked out of the castle that badly? Because you're asking for it and I don't mind arranging it!'

Fuji bowed. 'I apologize, Your Majesty, I was preparing some things for this meeting, but I can assure you that it won't happen again.'

Sometimes it was nice to know what would happen in the future.

'If you're late one more time I will kick you out of the castle myself,' said the King.

'Yes, Your Majesty.' Fuji quickly sat down on the empty chair that was his. He winked at Tezuka when King Atobe wasn't looking at them. Tezuka didn't wink back, he quickly turned his face the other way, because he was sure he would start blushing again, he couldn't let his guard down.

'We were going to discuss the heirloom,' said Sanada. 'I heard rumors and I would like to know if they are true.'

'There is a 87 per cent chance you are talking about the rumors that say the King is infertile,' said the man with brown hair. His name was Yanagi Renji.

'And there is a 64 per cent chance that the rumor is the truth,' said the man with black hair and glasses. His name was Inui Sadaharu. He and Fuji got along very well.

'You are wrong, Inui,' said the King. 'The rumor is not true. It's a lie, brought into this world by an idiot who doesn't know a thing about fertility. The Queen is possibly infertile. It seems I'm very unlucky when it comes to picking the right woman for me. But I'm a patient man. I'm trying to find out if another woman can carry my heir for me.'

'How?' asked Shiraishi. 'You let the Doctor take a look at them or do you pick women who have given birth before?'

The King didn't know what to answer for a moment and Tezuka took that chance to speak up.

'By sleeping with as much different women as possible,' he said. 'Nobility, girls from the staff and even prostitutes.'

The King was flabbergasted. He slowly turned around, his mouth open, ready to say something, but no words came out. All the others in the room were very surprised as well, but more about the things he said than about the fact that Tezuka actually said them.

'Is that true?' asked Yagyuu, a very serious Earl, who didn't tolerate lies or cheating. He was a real gentleman and he expected others to be like that as well.

'It's true,' said Fuji, half to protect Tezuka, half to make sure the King wouldn't start defending himself and get rid of Tezuka. 'Ever since a certain idiot told the King that he was infertile His Majesty has asked for several women to join him in his bedroom. It's been two months since and he had exactly 46 women in there, next to the Queen.'

'I won't tolerate it!' said Yagyuu. 'You are the King, but you have to be loyal to the Queen. You had to discuss things with us before you would ask for all kinds of women to join you in your bed. Did any of them actually get pregnant?'

The King didn't want to answer, but he knew somebody else would if he would stay quiet. 'No, none of them is pregnant, but maybe it was just the wrong period of the month.'

'Forty-six women and all of them were in the wrong period of the month?' Inui asked. 'It would be interesting to calculate how big the chance is that something like that will happen. It's highly impossible that none of them became pregnant if you are fertile. A hundred per cent chance the rumors are true then.'

'Then what will we do about the heir?' asked Shiraishi. 'There will never be one.'

'There would never be one from the beginning,' said Fuji. 'Even if our King was not infertile, he would not have produced an heir, because he is not supposed to be our King.'

Fuji knew that the things he said were dangerous, but he kept a straight face, showing no fear at all while everybody was thinking about the words he said.

'Explain yourself,' said Sanada, the most impatient of the men.

'We all know about the history of the old King, not our current King's father, but the one before that. The only heir in the royal family back then and he died of a disease before he had produced an heir. The Atobe-family was very important in those days, so they took over until the King was buried and the period of grief was over. But the people of the country had already gotten used to being ruled by the Atobe-family, so they made themselves the new royal family. King Atobe the first let himself be crowned, he never had any rights to the throne.'

'How come nobody knows about that?' asked Inui, not even calculating anything.

'It's not a story that was made public,' answered Fuji. 'Of course he would do everything to keep it a secret. If he was found out he would get the death penalty. But nobody knew, so he could do whatever he wanted. He got a son, our current King, who inherited the throne when his father died. Not only was his father not the real King, but His Majesty is not the son of the Queen.'

Another wave of shock when through the room.

'What are you talking about?' asked the King angry. 'Don't be stupid, you just want to bring me down and you come up with all kinds of lies! Don't believe him, he is just a jealous, brainless boy!'

'I have a witness for it,' said Fuji. 'A trustworthy one. It's the mother of our King.'

The doors opened and Ryuuzaki-sensei entered the room. She bowed for all the men who were gaping at her and tried her best to keep her dignity.

'Don't be ridiculous!' said the King angry. 'She is my mother in law, not my mother, everybody knows that.'

'But I am your mother,' said Ryuuzaki. 'Your father was exactly like you. He loved everything and everyone that looked good. He probably had fifty women every two months as well, just not to make them pregnant, but for his own fun!'

'She used to be a very hot woman,' whispered Fuji to the surprised men around him.

Ryuuzaki didn't notice them, she just continued to speak to her son. 'Yes, I am also the mother of your wife, but her father accepted me and loved me, while your father took his chance with me, took his kid and left me. Your father in law still visits me every time he is here at the castle! Your wife is also your sister, so it's good you can't have kids with her! This world will become a better place!'

'YOU BITCH!' shouted the King. 'How dare you! My mother died when I was born! Don't you dare say anything bad about her! She gave her life to give me life!'

'You wish!' said a woman who slammed the door open. She looked exactly like the woman on the family portrait, although she was a lot older now. 'I am not dead and I would never give my life for scum like you!'

'Oka-san?' the King said surprised. 'You were alive? Where have you been all that time, why weren't you here? Why weren't you here when dad died?'

'I didn't want to be around that cheating bastard anymore,' said the woman. 'I knew he had other women, but when he got a kid with one of them and wanted me to raise it, it was enough. If he sleeps with others he has to take responsibility too. That is why I left. He might have told the entire Kingdom that I died when I gave birth to you, but that is the only good thing he ever did to me. Now I could live the life I wanted without getting in trouble. It has been amazing since then.'

'Then why are you here today?' asked the King coldly.

'I got a message from Fuji-kun. He said he needed my help with reorganizing the government of this country and I gladly help him if it means we get rid of you.'

'Thank you Hanamura-san,' said Fuji and he bowed slightly for her.

'Seer, you are so dead now!' said King Atobe. He stood up, ready to beat the living daylights out of Fuji, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

'Don't you dare to touch him,' said Tezuka with a dark voice.

The King pulled away and muttered a 'don't touch me' to his advisor, but it didn't sound very convincing. He quickly regained himself though.

'So, what if I have a different mother than everybody thought? Who cares? I'm still the son of the King. I'm still the King myself, I still have power! You can't do anything about it!'

'I told you your father didn't have any rights to be the King, right?' said Fuji. 'Your father was a murderer. He killed the King, so he could take over the power without anybody being able to stop him, but that doesn't mean you have any right to be the King and behave like you have done the last twenty years!'

'You have no witness!' said the King. 'You can say whatever you want, but who will believe you? You're the only one who claims I cannot be the King, but if you want to really take some action, why don't you find a second witness? Where is your proof? You do know that you can forget about your job here at the castle now, right? I'm going to throw you in prison and make sure you will get tortured until you will beg me for forgiveness!'

Fuji stayed calm. He looked at the doors that led to the hall way. Once again they opened and a very old man entered the room.

'Otou-san?' Tezuka Kuniharu asked surprised. He took a step forward to take a closer look.

'I will be the second witness,' said Tezuka Kunikazu. 'My entire life I worked for the King. We were more like friends than like a King and his councilor. The day the King was killed he wasn't feeling well. It was just a cold, nothing that would kill him. I was preparing a hot bath for him when I heard someone enter the room. The King had asked to be left alone, so I went to take a look so I could let the visitor know that the King didn't want any company. It was Atobe-san who came to visit. He brought a hot drink with special medicine, or so he said. The look on his face told me enough, but the King didn't notice. He was ill, his vision was being clouded. Before I could say a thing the King had already taken the cup and took a sip from it. I called him and hoped one sip wouldn't be enough to harm him, but it must have been really strong. Atobe-san sent me away, but I watched from around the corner and could see how Atobe-san was laughing while the King was dying a slow and painful death! There was nothing I could do anymore.'

'I wouldn't be able to do that to my worst enemy,' whispered Shiraishi who sat next to Fuji. 'Let alone to the most important man of the country!'

'Ever since that day,' continued Tezuka Kunikazu, 'I have been searching for a way to get the Atobe-family out of the castle. With Fuji-kun's help I finally found a way. There are two witnesses now, enough proof. I can't say it was worth leaving my family for such a long time, but right now I'm very glad we solved things.'

'In that case, Atobe Keigo, from this moment on you are not the King anymore of this country,' said Sanada, taking the lead.

'Should we throw him in prison?' Yagyuu asked.

'Technically he didn't really commit a crime,' said Yanagi.

'He didn't know anything about the murder of the former king,' said Fuji. 'His father never told him that much. But he did know his father wasn't meant to be King and that he wasn't meant to take that position either.'

'You should have mentioned it,' said Yagyuu. 'We could have found a solution for the problem years ago and he could have gotten a high position in our council. He chose not to do that, so now he will have to face the consequences. Besides, he had forty-six women in two months. How many of them were there out of their own free will and how many were forced to sleep with him? I will investigate. I hope you will assist me in that, Fuji-kun.'

'I don't mind,' said Fuji. 'I'll give you a list of names and addresses, so you can easily find them and ask them about it.'

'Thank you,' said Sanada. 'Until then we will lock him up. I will try to find a good judge who can help us with the punishment he deserves. I think we should call it a day for now. We will discuss the new government tomorrow at ten in the morning. You can all leave now and prepare yourself for tomorrow. Guards, take Atobe Keigo away and lock him up.'

'Am I not allowed to have a say in this?!' shouted Atobe.

'Not until your trial,' answered Sanada.

When the ex-King was dragged out of the room Tezuka Kuniharu ran to his father. He grabbed his shoulders and looked at him from head to toe and back.

'You're alive!' he said happily. 'I can't believe it, this is amazing. You are alive after all those years! Why didn't you contact us?'

'I've been too busy,' apologized the old man. 'I wanted to send you a letter a few times, but then I thought you would want me to come back. I didn't want to work for a fake royal family, so I stayed away until I got a letter from Fuji-kun.'

'Fuji, you knew he was alive?' Tezuka asked. He stepped forward and bowed to his grandfather. 'Oji-san, welcome back.'

'You must be my grandson Kunimitsu,' smiled Kunikazu. 'I only saw you when you were a baby. You have grown up very nicely. You look a lot like your father.'

'And like your grandfather,' Fuji noted.

'Probably like me too,' said the old man. 'I'm glad I still got to see you as an adult. It has always been my wish to see you again.'

'I've heard a lot about you, oji-san and I'm glad I finally have the chance to meet you myself,' said Tezuka formally. 'Fuji, why didn't you tell us earlier?'

'I didn't know it for a very long time yet,' answered the Seer. 'I was looking for people who could help me, witnesses who could help me with getting rid of this King. I accidently found out about your grandfather. It wasn't easy to trace him.'

'You should have told us,' said Kuniharu.

'No, I liked the surprise,' said Fuji. 'Not just Tezuka-san, but also Ryuuzaki-sensei and Hanamura-san. I wanted to slowly unfold what was going on, so nobody would get confused. The story is clear to everyone now and we have all seen the true face of our ex-King.'

'True,' said Tezuka. 'You really like some drama, don't you?'

'Of course, things are more fun with a little drama,' smiled Fuji. 'I have to do something with my boring life.'

'Fuji-kun,' said a voice behind them. The Seer turned around and saw Hanamura standing there. 'Thank you for doing this. I'm glad I could help to make things right again here. My ex-husband was a worthless King, but his son was even worse.'

'I'm very glad you took the time to come here and help us, Hanamura-san,' said Fuji and he bowed to her. 'If you ever need me, just call for me, I will come to help. I don't mind predicting your future for you.'

'Thank you Fuji-kun, I'll be taking my leave now.'

She left. Ryuuzaki-sensei was still there though. Fuji approached her and touched her arm. 'Do you want me to bring you to your daughter?' he asked. His teacher hadn't seen her daughter for a very long time even though they lived so close together.

'Yes, please,' she answered.

'Saeki,' Fuji called. 'You know the first floor better than I do. Could you bring Ryuuzaki-sensei to the rooms of the Queen so she can see her daughter?'

'Of course,' said the black and white-haired guy. 'Please come with me, sensei, I'll take you there.'

Now that the King was gone they all felt more at ease and they talked more casually with each other. They were friends, so there was no reason to be formal. Saeki was often around, but they hardly ever got to talk to each other.

'Oh, so Fuji-kun is your son in law?' Fuji heard Kunikazu say in surprise. The Seer turned around and walked to his boyfriend, who was once again blushing.

'Did you really have to tell, Otou-san?' he sighed.

'Of course, your grandfather wants to know everything,' said Kuniharu. 'And you love Fuji-kun, right? There is nothing to be embarrassed about then.'

'Nobody knows yet,' said Tezuka.

'Then it's about time you let them know,' said the grandfather. 'Fuji-kun is a very pretty boy! What will you do if others start hitting on him and steal him away from you?'

Fuji just smiled at Tezuka, which clearly made Tezuka more uncomfortable.

'Don't worry, Tezuka,' said Fuji. 'I won't leave you. I have never seen a more handsome man than you, so I wouldn't know where to go! I only want the best.'

Tezuka showed a small smile, which made the smiles on the faces of his family members only bigger.

'Sounds like everything went well, even when I wasn't around,' said Kunikazu. 'Let's go now, I want to see Ayana too. Maybe we can all have dinner together.'


	25. Chapter 25

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **25  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1927 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 25**

'We all had some time to think about how we are going to rule this country from now on,' said Sanada. He and all the others who were usually at a meeting sat in the room with the big round table. Only the ex-King wasn't present. Tezuka, his father and his grandfather were there as well. Normally they had to stand behind the King, but that wasn't necessary anymore. They had gotten a chair and a place at the table. The advisors of the Dukes and Earls had gotten a place as well. The King had always wanted a difference between the important people and their servants, but nobody of the Dukes or Earls really cared about that. They knew their advisors better than anybody else and they were more like friends.

'We can't have a new King,' said Inui. 'There is a five per cent chance the people will accept that. They already heard what has happened here yesterday and they weren't too pleased. They wouldn't like another King that doesn't belong to the royal family.'

'There is no way we can pick a King,' said Tezuka Kuniharu. 'There are no members of the previous royal family left, not even a far cousin. We will have to find another way of ruling this country. No more King or Queen.'

'Speaking of the Queen, what will happen to her?' asked Yagyuu.

'I'd suggest we let her divorce from Atobe Keigo,' said Sanada. 'She has never seemed happy with him. We let her return to her father or let her stay with her mother if she wants. Maybe she can remarry. We will let her decide.'

'So, no royal family,' said Shiraishi. 'But we aren't the youngest anymore. We can't keep ruling this country with the few of us. Besides, we also have other responsibilities. We need more people, younger people to do this. Not everyone is suitable though, we need people with a lot of knowledge about the country, but also with knowledge about the way a country is ruled.'

'We will have to teach them,' commented Sanada. 'Except for us there aren't many people who know how to rule so many people and so much land. But we learned our sons how they could do that, so we can teach others as well.'

'There is no need for that,' said Fuji. 'It will take a lot of time to choose the right people and to teach them everything they have to know. We don't have that much time, the country has to be ruled now. But there are people who have that kind of knowledge with their sons for generations already. They have always been ruling this country from the shadows, so why not put them in the spotlights now?'

'What are you talking about, Seer?' asked Yanagi.

'Your advisors,' said Fuji simply.

The Dukes and Earls looked surprised at each other and at the advisors that were present in the room.

'That makes sense,' said Yanagi. 'My advisor knows everything about the defense of country. If there were problems with neighboring countries he could prevent a war.'

'Mine knows everything about economy and his son can tell us all we want to know about agriculture,' said Yagyuu. 'Both are useful too I would say.'

'Mine is very good with international relationships,' said Inui. 'He can take care of that department.'

'Tezuka Kunimitsu knows everything about logistics. Not just by road, but also by water. His father is specialized in education,' bragged Fuji. 'So that would be two more!'

'Mine can take care of the health care department,' said Shiraishi.

'It's good to hear they're all specialized in something else,' said Sanada. 'My advisor knows a lot about science, so I think we have the most important things covered then. The things that are not covered should be taken care of by all of them or they could ask help from someone who does know all about the topic. I think we should bring all advisors together and ask them what they think about this plan. If some of them don't want to do this we cannot force them.'

'Why not ask the ones that are here right now?' asked Shiraishi. 'We might have a start. If the ones here would like to help us out we don't have to find many replacements.'

It was silent for a few heartbeats. Advisors weren't used to speaking in public. They whispered their words of advice to their employee or spoke when they were asked to speak. Tezuka Kuniharu was the first to open his mouth.

'I wouldn't mind,' he said. 'It would be very interesting and a real challenge to do so. I'm honored. But just like you I'm not a young man anymore, so I will need someone who I can teach all about education. My son is already specialized in something else, so I will need someone else who can help me.'

'We can't do everything on our own anyway,' said one of the other advisors. 'We will need people who can help us. They will learn more about the topic while they work with us and then one of them could take over our place when we want to retire.'

'But when a problem will arise, will only the involved department make a decision about that or will it be spoken about will the other departments as well?' a third advisor asked.

'I'd say we should discuss it with the other departments as well,' said Tezuka. 'They might have other ideas about a certain topic that you won't think about when you are working with it everyday. It's especially useful when you're stuck with a problem.'

'We can help you too if there are problems you can't find a solution,' said Yanagi. 'Discuss it together, but discuss such things with us as well. Together we can solve things. We could come together every month or every two months. We will keep watching over the different parts of the country, so we will be in contact with each other very often anyway. For us it's also important to know what decisions you make.'

'In that case I don't mind either,' said Tezuka. 'But we will need a place to work and we have to decide what we will do with the people that work here at the castle. Without a King or Queen they aren't necessary anymore, but we can't send them away. They worked their entire lives for the King.'

'There are enough rooms to let the advisors live here with their families,' said Fuji. 'Why not let them all live here, so the servants can stay and continue to do their job like they always have done? I think that would make them happy. But the people who live in the little shops outside will have to do business in the city too, so they can earn more money. I'm sure they would like to see what the world outside the walls looks like.'

'They have never been outside the walls?' asked Sanada shocked.

'No, most are born here and have never been outside. I have been here since I was five. I'm twenty-one now, so I haven't seen the world for sixteen years. I'm sure it has changed.'

'That's ridiculous!' said Sanada. 'They have been treated like slaves! They have the right to go outside and do business! You're all going outside! Today! We will start the changes immediately. Dukes and Earls, I want all of you to get your advisors here by tomorrow, so we can talk to them. I want them to think about this too, so we can quickly start with a new government for this country! We have to discuss the future with them as soon as possible.'

'Before everyone will leave I have a question,' said Inui. 'Seer, I have a question for you. Will you become a part of the government too? Not as the head of a special department, but almost in the same way you helped Atobe Keigo with his problems? There is a 98 per cent chance you will be very useful there.'

'That is a high percentage!' smiled Fuji. 'But I'm going to decline. The King depended on me too much. He started to ask more and more and he hardly dared to go outside without asking me first what would happen and it he would survive it. I don't want the advisors to depend on me too much. I won't live forever. One day I will die and they will have to work without me as well. If they have real big questions I don't mind answering them, but I don't want to be a part of the government. Think of me as an advisor in case of emergency. That way they won't depend on me too much and if I will die or lose my ability the country will still be ruled without problems.'

'You already thought about that,' said Inui. 'I think it's a wise decision. Alright, that was all I wanted to know.'

'Fuji-kun, you are dismissed,' said Sanada. 'Go and take everyone who hasn't been outside the walls and take them into the city. Go and explore, but tell them to be back when it will become dark outside. We will continue to discuss a few things that still need answers, but we won't need you. We should indeed not depend too much on your knowledge.'

Fuji smiled. 'Thank you very much. I have a request. I know you would very much like to keep him here, but can I take Tezuka Kunimitsu? He has never been outside the walls either.'

Eyebrows were rising everywhere. They all looked at the young advisor. He was smart and he knew a lot for a person who had never seen anything of the 'real world'.

'Please go with Fuji-kun,' said Sanada simply.

Fuji could see that Tezuka was embarrassed, but it was probably for the best that they knew. There might be things he didn't know about the world outside and as the head of a department he should know everything. He would be more embarrassed if he would be working and he would say something stupid about the world on the other side of the walls.

Together they left the room and within no time they had all servant and other people gathered. A big group of people walked through the gates into the city. The citizens were looking at them and wondering what was going on. The servants were all looking around and pointing at things that were completely normal for the people who lived there.

The group split up in little groups and they all went their own way. Tezuka took Fuji's arm and dragged him away from the big group.

'Let's explore together,' he said.

Fuji smiled at him. 'Sounds great. What did you think of my idea not to join the government?'

'It's your decision. I wouldn't have minded having you there. It's nice to work with you, so I can see you more often, but the things you said are true. Without you we wouldn't know the future either.'

'I did it for a different reason.'

'What reason then?' Tezuka asked.

'If I will lose my ability there won't be any problem,' said Fuji. 'Do you understand what I'm saying?' Tezuka looked a bit confused. 'I mean you can sleep with me,' whispered Fuji. 'Without any consequences. It wouldn't matter if I would lose my ability. We c0uld still be together and we could still be happy.'

'You did it for me?' Tezuka asked.

Fuji laughed. 'Not just for you. For myself as well. I have such a hot boyfriend, I don't want to waste that!'

Laughing a bit louder Fuji dragged a blushing Tezuka through the city.


	26. Chapter 26

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **26  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1463 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 26**

It took a few weeks until everything was settled down. The castle was a chaos during that time. People were moving in and out. Since the servants could all chose if they wanted to leave or if they wanted to stay a few of them chose to leave and live with their family in town. When it was necessary new servants were hired and they had to move in.

Tezuka had to move to a room on the first floor. The rooms there were bigger and much more luxurious, so the young man didn't like it too much. He knew the servants lived with two or three in rooms that were smaller than the room he had. His parents got such a room as well, but they were happy with it and told their son to be happy with it as well. He deserved it after all his hard work.

'You could ask Fuji0-kun if he wants to move in,' said Tezuka Kuniharu. 'I'm sure he wouldn't mind and he has a small room.'

'I don't know,' said Tezuka. 'I don't know him that long yet. It's been only a few months.'

'I know you, Kunimitsu,' said the father. 'You wouldn't be with him for such a long time already if you weren't completely serious about him.'

'I am, but…' Tezuka didn't really know why he didn't ask Fuji either.

'Oh, Fuji-kun, good timing, we were just talking about you,' said Tezuka Kuniharu.

The Seer who entered the hall way where the two man had been talking. He smiled at the two. 'I hope you were saying positive things then,' he answered. 'If not, I want to know everything.'

'Kunimitsu will get a room on the first floor, but he says it's too big for him alone and he prefers staying on the second floor, even though all advisors have a room on the first floor by now.'

'I see,' grinned Fuji. 'So to make the room look less big you want me to move in?'

Tezuka Kuniharu nodded. 'That is what I suggested as well, but Kunimitsu wasn't sure about it, since you haven't been going out for a long time yet.'

'I understand,' said Fuji and he looked at his boyfriend. 'It's your choice, since it's your room. But if you want me to move in with you, you can just ask. I wouldn't mind at all, but I don't mind staying in my own room a little longer either. But I have some things to do right now, so if you will excuse me now, I have to go!'

Fuji walked past them, but Tezuka grabbed his arm, pulled him back and kissed his lips shortly. The Seer kissed him back and smiled happily. 'Just think about it!' he shouted as he walked away.

Tezuka made his decision when everybody was settled. Everybody had found his place and everyone knew where to go and what to do. The new government was established and the people were told about it. It was accepted and the first weeks had went well. The Dukes and Earls had been there to help, but they didn't have to do much, so instead they had taken care of people who could help the advisors with their work.

It also gave Fuji less to do. During the last few weeks he had to help out a lot to see if things would work in the future and if there would be no major problems. He wanted the start to be perfect, so they might be able to do things without him in the future.

'Fuji, I want you to move in with me,' said Tezuka one afternoon while they were spending some time together in the garden.

Fuji looked surprised at him. 'Are you sure?' he asked. 'Wait, you wouldn't tell me if you weren't sure. I'm very glad to hear that, Tezuka. I will move in with you as soon as possible then!'

'We will have to sleep in the same bed,' said Tezuka carefully.

Fuji grinned. 'Do you mind?' he asked. 'You never seemed to mind touching me.'

'I'm just a bit nervous,' answered Tezuka.

'No need to,' said Fuji. 'I want to go and look for my parents and siblings. Now that I'm a free man I think I want to see them again. I don't want to look into the future to see how they will react, but I do want to know where they live, so I can easily go there without searching. I can't give up my ability yet until I have seen them. Do you mind?'

'Of course I don't mind!' said Tezuka. 'I have always been with my family, so I would like it if you could get to know yours as well. If they are happy to see you again, maybe I can come with you one day?'

'If they're positive about my returning I'm sure they would like to see you too,' said Fuji. 'Just not the first time, because I won't know how they will react. It would be better if I go alone.'

'What if something happens?' Tezuka asked. 'If I'm there with you I can help you.'

'Yes, but having such a handsome man on your doorstep is very intimidating!' laughed Fuji. 'Especially if the tiny man next to him says he is your son and that Mr. Handsome is his lover! They would die of shock.'

'I don't think it would be that bad,' said Tezuka. 'But I don't mind if you want to go alone. Just be careful.'

'You should be careful too,' said the Seer. 'So you won't molest me when I'm sleeping next to you. Otherwise I will never be able to find them.'

'Why would I not be able to restrain myself? Tezuka asked. 'I held back until now, so I can do that a little longer. I choose you, even if we could never….touch like that. I never tried anything on you or anybody else.'

'If you had jumped anybody else I wouldn't be here with you,' said Fuji, a bit more serious this time. 'Will you help me to move all my things to your room?'

Tezuka hesitated. 'Everybody will know then, when they see us move your things to my room.'

'So…. you don't want people to know that we're together? Or don't you want them to know we like each other so much that will start living together? Aren't you proud of being with me?'

'I am proud to be with you, but it's also a little embarrassing,' Tezuka said. 'Everybody will think that we are going to…. well, sleep together and that that is the reason that we want to live in the same room.'

'You and I know that it's not true,' said Fuji. 'Isn't that enough? We can move things right after dinner. Most people will take a walk or go outside to relax. We can bring my things to your room without too many people noticing. Although they will find out soon enough anyway.'

'Sorry for being difficult,' said Tezuka.

'Not at all,' said Fuji. 'I like that you're unpredictable.'

'But you can see the future. You can see what I will do or say if you want to.'

'Where is the fun in that?' asked Fuji. 'No one would be able to surprise me anymore and I like surprises. Especially from you, since your surprises are always good ones. Like when you ran after me to tell me that you did want to be with me, even though we wouldn't be able to sleep together. It wouldn't have been special if I had already known you would do that.'

'That is why you wouldn't mind if you would lose your ability?' Tezuka asked.

'That is one reason indeed. The second reason is that people won't be depending on me so much anymore and the third reason is that I can finally live a normal life. The fourth reason is that I will hopefully get something great in return.'

'Then do you _want_ to get rid of it?'

'I don't know. I'm not sure what to answer. I wouldn't grieve if I would lose it, I think, but I have never been without it, so I can't say for sure,' said Fuji a little confused. 'But I don't think I would mind if I would have it for the rest of my life. I learned to live with it.'

'I guess we'll see soon enough,' said Tezuka.

'Oh really? Are you planning to jump me then?' joked Fuji.

'Yes, one day I will,' answered the advisor.

'I like how straight forward you are,' said Fuji. 'I'll be leaving as soon as possible, so I can return soon as well.'


	27. Chapter 27

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **27  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **4644 words  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**Chapter 27**

Fuji did leave quickly. Two days later he was ready. He had searched for the place where his family lived and he had packed a few things he needed. Some clothes, a bit of food and a little money. It would take him about a day to go there. If they wouldn't accept him he would have to stay a night at an inn.

Tezuka didn't like it. He didn't want his boyfriend to be on his own in a place he didn't know. So much could happen to him and without his ability he might not be able to find a way to escape. Fuji was a little angry when Tezuka told him and he replied that he wasn't that weak and that he would be fine. He would find an inn before dark and that he would lock the door.

When Tezuka was sure Fuji would take good care of himself he allowed him to leave, although he didn't really have a say in that. Fuji would go if he wanted to. And so he did. He was a little nervous to go out on his own, but he wasn't going to tell Tezuka that.

He left with a high spirit and the hope that his family would be glad to see him again after so many years. He had to walk, so he left early when almost everyone was still in bed. Tezuka walked the first part with him, until they left the walls of the city. They said goodbye at the gate and Fuji promised he would be back in four days. He made Tezuka promise that he wouldn't start searching for him. They would both get lost and they might never see each other again.

'That doesn't sound very promising,' said Tezuka with a sigh.

'I know, but you're an important man!' said Fuji. 'You help ruling this country! The country needs you, so do your job and don't worry about me. I'll be back in a few days.'

They shared a long kiss and a hug before Fuji walked away.

'Look forward to what will happen when I come back,' he shouted at his boyfriend. He could see Tezuka was shaking his head, probably wondering why he had ever fallen for a man like Fuji.

The Seer enjoyed his journey a lot. He was only gone for a few minutes when he met a farmer who was heading the same way. He was offered a ride which he gladly took. He moved a lot faster that way and before he knew it he was already half way. The farmer wouldn't go further than that certain town, so from there Fuji had to walk again. He didn't mind at all, but he thanked the farmer for his kindness.

The sun had started to shine brightly and it was a wonderful day to walk. Fuji softly sang as he walked over the lonely roads. Now and then he met people on horses or with coaches. A few people were walking as well and he greeted them all.

He shared his lunch with a pregnant woman who he met on his way and who didn't bring any food. They sat down in the grass and ate together. The Seer didn't mind sharing, the two cooks had given him way too much anyway. He could still survive if he would be gone for a week. Fuji carried the woman's bags to the next village and there she took them back again. She was almost home by now.

Fuji still had to continue though. The village he used to live when he was a young child was close to the Western border of the country. He couldn't remember it had taken so long when he had travelled to the castle with his father, but he did remember his father had a horse. They had probably used the horse to get to the castle. A five year old kid couldn't walk so far.

The adult Fuji could walk that far. He was offered a horse, but being the unimportant person he had always been, he had never learned to ride a horse. If he could get along with his family it was something he wanted to learn in the future. That way he could visit them more easily and they might get a little closer.

Thinking about the future without looking in the future Fuji eventually arrived in the village where he was born. He didn't really recognize anything or anyone until he reached the market square. He used to come there almost every day when he was young. He joined his father who had to do business or he joined his mother when she went shopping. It didn't bring back much memories though. He had been so young when he left the place, how could he remember?

The Seer searched for the little house he had seen when he had searched for his family. It took him some time to find it. It was in a small street, away from the center. It was late in the afternoon when he knocked on the door. Fuji was incredibly nervous. He really wanted this, but he couldn't help but worry they wouldn't be interested in him at all.

Why did it take so long before the door was opened? Should he knock again. He raised his hand to knock again, but didn't. His parents weren't the youngest anymore, probably as old as Tezuka's parents. If something had ever happened to them it might be that they were hurt and they couldn't walk so fast? Had a minute already passed?

Fuji was still asking himself one hundred different questions by the time the door was opened. He looked at an elder woman with almost completely gray hair that reached a little further than her chin.

'I'm sorry,' said the woman. 'I was cleaning, so I had to wash my hands before I could open the door. What can I do for you, sir?'

'Is this the Fuji-family?' Fuji asked carefully. He hated to admit it, but he didn't recognize the woman as his mother. He kept telling himself that it had been sixteen years, but he still felt guilty.

'Yes, I'm Fuji Yoshiko,' said the woman. 'Can I help you with something, sir?'

'I…' started Fuji. 'Yes, I was looking for you and your family. I… I am your son.'

The woman looked at him with a questioning look on her face. She obviously didn't believe Fuji. 'My son is at work, he will be home within an hour. My other son died at the age of five, so I don't know what you are talking about, sir.'

Fuji was confused. He hadn't expected this to happen. He had prepared himself for all different kind of situations, like his mother accepting him or not accepting him, but not that she wouldn't believe him or that he was declined dead.

'I'm Fuji Syuusuke,' said the Seer. 'I'm alive. I'm not dead. Father took me to the castle when I was five and he sold me. I never had the opportunity to come back here, but now I have, so I wanted to see you again. My siblings too.'

'You can't be Syuusuke,' said the woman. 'He died when he was out with his father. I don't know what you are trying to obtain, but I don't have anything for you. I can't do anything for you sir, so please leave.'

Fuji grabbed the door when his mother tried to close it. He opened his eyes and begged her not to leave yet. The moment Yoshiko saw his eyes she let go of the door. Fuji, who was still pulling on the other side fell backwards.

'Those eyes,' said Yoshiko. 'You must be Syuusuke. Nobody else had such eyes. I thought you were blind when you first opened your eyes as a baby. But you could see. You could see more than anybody else. How can you be alive? You are supposed to be dead. I made a grave for you!'

Fuji stood up and smiled at her. 'Why don't we go inside and have a cup of tea while I will tell you everything?'

'Yes, tea,' said Yoshiko. 'We should…. come in.'

Fuji followed his mother inside and was a bit shocked by everything he saw. It was so small and everything was so old compared to most other houses around and especially compared to the castle. He felt guilty and out of place with the beautiful and brand new clothes he was wearing. Now he understood why his mother had kept calling him 'sir'. She had thought he was someone rich and important.

He helped her to make tea, because Yoshiko's hands were shaking. He told her to sit down, so he could finish the hot drinks. He put them down on the table and sat down himself as well.

'I still can't believe it,' said Yoshiko. 'I don't understand how you can be alive. And you look like you are doing well. What has happened to you?'

'Maybe you can tell me what you think has happened first,' said Fuji. 'It might be easier for me to explain what has really happened.'

'Your father took you on a little camping trip, or so he said,' started Yoshiko. 'You were his oldest son and he wanted you to grow up as a fine man. You were thin and small, so he said it would do you good to go and spend some time in nature for a while. You two left, but a few days later he came back on his own, carrying one of your shirts, covered in blood. He said you had been attacked by a wild animal and that he had tried everything to save you. He had scratches himself as well, so I believed him. We spend days grieving and I made a special grave, even though you were buried somewhere else.'

There were tears in the eyes of the woman as she told the story. Fuji could still see she had a hard time believing he was still alive and he was here with her in her living room.

'I don't remember very much from that time,' said Fuji. 'But I can see the past and the future and that helped me to understand what happened. Father often took me to the market to buy or sell things. I always enjoyed it, except when he went to one of houses. He went to visit… women,' said Fuji. He didn't know how to tell his mother his father had been cheating on her.

'Your father has left years ago with a young, beautiful girl,' said Yoshiko. 'I knew what was going on, so just tell your story.'

'At least twice a week he told he to wait outside while he went to a house where a girl lived. He was in there for half an hour or an hour and I could never go in there. I didn't understood when I was young, but later I knew what he had been doing. When we found out about my ability he got scared. He kept telling me to never speak about it with anyone, so I didn't. He said it was important business that nobody could know about, not even you. I asked him a few questions about it, like why I couldn't go inside as well, especially when it was cold outside. It probably scared him. He knew I was able to see what he was doing, even if I was standing outside on my own. I don't really remember the camping trip, but he did take me away at the age of five.'

'It was a camping trip,' said Yoshiko. 'You were looking forward to it so much!'

'He never took me camping. We went to the castle of the King. I remember father talked with a lot of people about me, but none of these people could help him. He kept telling me to behave and look strong and tall, so I did. In the end we stood in front of the King himself. Father told him he had debts and that he now had a way to pay for them all. He offered me to him. He told him about my ability and the King was very interested. Father sold me for a lot of money to work at the castle.'

'I remember he suddenly spend a lot of money,' said Yoshiko. 'I always wondered where he got that, because he never liked to work much.'

'He got it from the King and he left the same day,' said Fuji. 'I was at the castle all on my own and I didn't know what to do. I soon had to go to school there and I made friends, but even at that young age I had to give the King answers about things a child shouldn't know anything about. But it was my job, the king had paid for me, so I had no choice. I have been advising him and telling him what could happen for years and it wasn't a pleasant job. But I got food and I had friends, so it wasn't all that bad. I was treated well. Life hasn't been so bad, but I missed my family. You probably heard the King is gone now. I wasn't allowed to leave the castle, but now that the King is gone I'm free to go wherever I want. I took the opportunity to come here.'

'Life has been kind to you,' said Yoshiko with a smile that looked a lot like Fuji's. 'You look very good and your life wouldn't have been that good if you had lived with us.'

'I'm probably the only person in the world who could find out if that is true or not,' said Fuji with a matching smile. 'But I don't want to know. Life has been like this and we can't change it. I had good times and I had bad times, but that would have happened here at home as well. I might have lived at the castle, the most rich place of the country, but I was nothing more than a mere servant. I had a small room and I got simple food, just like everybody else who works there. I have nice clothes, but only because I had to appear in front of the King and the important people he worked with. Some people who lived there earned money. I didn't, because I was property of the King. I was sold to him, he owned me, so no need to give me money.'

'I guess it was meant to be like this,' answered Yoshiko. 'I'm just very glad that you are alive. But what will you do now? The King is gone and we have a new government. Are you still needed there or did they tell you to leave? You can start living here if you want to. We can make place for you.'

'There is no need to,' smiled Fuji. 'They still need my help there, even though the King is gone, people still would like to know what will happen in the future. But now I will hopefully get paid for it. I told them I wouldn't tell them everything and I wouldn't help them too much. It's better if they find things out on their own without knowing if it will work or not. They wouldn't be able to anything without me anymore and I don't want that to happen. But I can still stay. My… boyfriend is a part of the government. He has a room at the castle, so I can stay with him, even if I'm not needed anymore.'

'You have a boyfriend?' Yoshiko asked surprised. 'You really are doing well then. He is even a part of the government! Is he an important person then?'

'He used to be the advisors of the King,' explained Fuji. 'He became head of a department now. So he used to be a simple servant like me, but now he is more important. He doesn't consider himself as someone important though, I like that about him.'

'I would very much like to meet him one day,' said Yoshiko, smiling when she saw how happy her son was. 'If he is not too busy and if we are good enough to meet him.'

'Of course you are good enough!' said Fuji. 'Why wouldn't you be? You are my mother! If he would think you weren't good enough I wouldn't want him as my boyfriend! He isn't nobility or something like that, he is a normal person like you and me. He wanted to come with me today, but I told him it would be better if I would go alone. So he will definitely want to meet you too one day.'

'Oka-san, who are you talking to?' sounded a voice

'Yuuta, come here for a second?' Yoshiko called her other son. 'I have a surprise for you!'

A few moments later a tall, broad young men entered the room. He looked at his mother, then at their guest, then at his mother again.

'He is not your lover or anything, is he?' Yuuta asked.

'Oh, Yuuta, how dare you say something like that!' Yoshiko said shocked. 'Of course he is not my lover! This is your brother! Syuusuke came to visit us. He isn't dead!'

Fuji stood up and bowed a little for his younger brother. Yuuta was taller and broader and way manlier than Fuji was and would ever be. It made Fuji a little jealous, but he didn't show it.

'It's probably a big surprise to see me,' he said. 'Mother told me you all thought I had died. I'm very sorry I never sent you a letter. I thought you knew what had happened to me.'

'How can he be my older brother?!' asked Yuuta. 'He doesn't look like me at all! He is all pretty and feminine! Are you sure it's him! He looks more like a girl, maybe someone tries to trick you!'

'No,' smiled Yoshiko. 'It's Syuusuke. I recognize those eyes everywhere. He is my son for sure. Syuusuke, would you mind telling Yuuta your story again while I prepare dinner?'

'I will,' said Fuji. He sat down again and Yuuta sat in front of him. Fuji told the entire story again and answered all of Yuuta's questions until the younger brother was satisfied and sort of believed the story as well.

'How is Yumiko-neesan doing?' Fuji asked when he was done with his the story of his life.

'She married a few years ago with a man from a town not too far away from here,' replied Yuuta. 'We don't see her often. She has to work very hard, but whenever we see her she tells us she is happy, so we believe her. You should go and visit her too one day.'

'I would love that,' said Fuji. 'But maybe it would be better if you or Oka-san would tell her that I'm alive and that I will come to visit her. It will make things a little easier for me.'

'We could invite her here,' said Yoshiko who entered the room with plates with food. She handed one to Fuji. 'I'm sorry, it's probably not what you are used to, but it's all I have right now.'

'It's food made by my mother, how could I dislike it?' asked Fuji.

'Thank you,' said Yoshiko. 'I will invite Yumiko and you should come and visit us again that day. You should take your boyfriend, so we can meet him too. If you don't mind coming again.'

'I don't mind at all,' said Fuji. 'I would very much like to come back and get to know you all better. It's been so long, I don't remember much from that time, but I did miss you all a lot. I will come back for sure.'

They spoke about the things that had happened in their lives the entire evening and they laughed about each other's stories. It was almost like it had never been different, until it started to get late and Fuji reminded that he had to find a place to sleep.

'Is there a good inn in the neighborhood?' Fuji asked.

'There is,' said Yoshiko. 'But I won't allow you to go there. You are my son, you will sleep here!'

Fuji smiled. 'That is even better.'

She showed him the best bed of the house, but he declined, it was Yuuta's bed and he wanted his brother to sleep in his own bed. He went in his sisters old bed instead, since it was empty. It wasn't as good as he was used to, but it was like home.'

The next day he stayed as well and he helped his mother with cleaning and his brother with his work. For the little money he had brought he bought them a few things they needed. His mother didn't want to take it, but Fuji explained he would have used it to stay in an inn if he couldn't stay at their place, so that she should take it like a sort of payment instead. Yoshiko didn't want to be paid by her own son, but Fuji said it was fine and that he didn't need it. He wanted to give them something after they gave so much to him.

Leaving was difficult. Now that Fuji had found his family back he didn't really want to leave after spending only one day with them. The thoughts of Tezuka reminded him that he did have to leave. He didn't want to worry him too much.

'I promise I will come back soon,' said Fuji when he said goodbye to his mother. Yuuta had already left early in the morning, because he had to work. Fuji didn't mind, the less goodbyes the better.

'Please be safe and send a letter to the castle if you want! Everybody knows me, so they will bring it to me. If you need anything you can ask for it. I'm properly working now, so I'm getting paid. I don't have to spend much though, because I have a room and food provided there.'

'Thank you my son,' said Yoshiko. She gave her oldest boy a long hug before she let him go.

Fuji waved as he walked away until he couldn't see his mother anymore. He felt a little silly, like he was a little boy, but he didn't really care what other people would think about it. Happily he walked all the way back to the capital. It seemed to take a lot longer than two days ago, but this time he didn't get a ride and he wasn't as nervous anymore, so time seemed to pass more slowly.

The Seer arrived in the evening, just in time for dinner. Tezuka was sitting on his own in the dining room, looking a little bored and lonely. He was the head of a department now and the other people thought he was an important man. The others with the same job as Tezuka ate somewhere else with their families. The servants didn't see Tezuka as one of their own anymore and wouldn't sit with him for dinner.

Fuji slowly approached his boyfriend until he stood closely behind him.

'You look lonely,' he whispered in his ear.

Tezuka quickly turned around. He stood up when he found Fuji standing behind him.

'You're back,' he smiled. 'I'm glad to see you're safe.' He took Fuji in his arms for a few seconds before they both sat down and had their dinner.

'So, did you meet your family?' Tezuka asked.

'I did,' said Fuji. 'Or what was left of it.'

He told everything from the beginning to the end. How he met his mother and how she didn't believe him at first, but that she believed him when she saw his eyes. Her happiness and Yuuta's confusion. He told how he spend an entire day there and how kind they had been to him, even though they hadn't seen him for such a long time. He also said that they hoped he would come back and that he wanted to go back, so he could meet his sister and so his family could meet Tezuka.

'You told them about me?' Tezuka asked.

'Well, I told them I have a boyfriend and my mom said I should bring you next time. I told her I would, so you have no choice.'

'I would love to come with you,' said Tezuka. 'How did they live?'

'They looked rather poor,' said Fuji. 'I left my money with them. They didn't want to take it, so I just left it there. My dad left a long time ago it seems, so they don't earn very much. Now that Yuuta is working they are paying of the debt my dad left them with. I felt a bit bad for the clothes I was wearing. Everything was new and clean while they only had some old things. I really want to help them as much as I can.'

'Send them some money now and then. We don't really need it here,' said Tezuka. 'And we still have the money I earn. It's enough for the two of us. Send them some, even if they tell you not to.'

'I was planning to do so, but hearing that you will take care of me makes it even better,' smiled Fuji. 'I chose the perfect man! He is tall, handsome, smart and now he is even getting rich!'

Tezuka gave the Seer a playful punch. Fuji laughed. 'I gave you compliments, you should be happy.'

'I am happy,' said Tezuka. 'Happy things went so well for you. After everything you've been through you deserved some happiness and some luck.'

'You make it sound like my life has been horrible up until now,' said Fuji. 'It wasn't perfect, but it hasn't been that bad. I always had my Nii-chan who took good care of me.'

'I had to,' said Tezuka. 'No one else would do it.'

'See, I have been lucky! If you hadn't been here nobody would have taken care of me. It must have been fate. If I had stayed with my family I would never have met you! I would have been poor and I couldn't have helped my family.'

'I would have been lonely,' said Tezuka. 'I found out how boring life was without you around. That never happened after you came here sixteen years ago.'

'Then make sure I stay with you the rest of my life,' whispered Fuji.

'I will,' whispered Tezuka back. 'I want to marry you.'

Fuji's eyes widened and he looked shocked at his boyfriend. 'You really…?' he asked, not able to finish his sentence. 'But I thought you said we weren't together for that long yet and…'

Tezuka shut the Seer up with a kiss on his lips. 'I know,' he said. 'But I know I want to be with you and nobody else.'

'Me too,' said Fuji. 'But I want you to meet my family first. I want us both to get to know them better, so they can come to our wedding too. It won't be anything big, but I want them to be there.'

'We're in no hurry,' answered Tezuka. 'We have all the time in the world.'

'Then will you take care of me tonight?' asked Fuji.

Tezuka had to think for a few seconds to understand what his boyfriend was talking about. Then he understood. 'I… if you want to,' he answered. 'You sure are in a hurry with _that_.'

'I am,' grinned Fuji. 'So promise me.'


	28. Chapter 28

**Title: **Predictor of the Future  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair  
**Chapter: **28  
**Genre: **AU, romance, friendship, angst  
**Word count: **1916 words  
**Rating: **NC-17!  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis

This is the final chapter! Thank you everyone who has been putting up with this crappy story! Special thanks to StarryNightsky who gave the most lovely reviews ever! If any of you have prompt for this pairing, please ask! I need inspiration!

**WARNING:** This chapter contains sexual content.

* * *

**Chapter 28**

Tezuka kept his promise that night. He still had some things to do, but he made sure he finished everything quickly, so he could go to his room early. Fuji was already there, reading a book on the bed.

'You're already here!' he said surprised when Tezuka came in so early. 'I wanted to prepare something sexy, to make it a bit easier for you.'

'You're sexy enough,' said Tezuka. 'You don't need anything extra.'

'But a few candles and some tiny nightgown wouldn't have been bad, right?' Fuji asked as he threw his book aside and climbed off the bed.

'It would be, but we can do without it.'

'You're not a very romantic person, Tezuka Kunimitsu,' sighed Fuji as he hugged his boyfriend and kissed him.

'You knew that when you became my lover,' said the taller man. 'Don't start complaining now.'

'Then show me you can do this without any special romantic things,' whispered Fuji.

Tezuka lifted Fuji in his arms and carried him back to the bed. He gently laid him down. He was in no hurry at all. He lay down next to him and they wrapped their arms around each other. They kissed sweetly. Their kisses were slow, but they got faster and more heated, mostly because of Fuji.

'Are you nervous?' the Seer asked.

'Not too much,' said Tezuka.

Fuji laughed. 'That's a 'yes' then. Your kisses are different. I'm a bit nervous too, but I prepared some things, so let's both relax?'

They did. Their kisses continued, but this time it were the kisses they were used to. They both forgot about the things they were going to do and that made them both feel better. Tezuka's hands that were fumbling with the buttons of Fuji's shirt were a sign that they were ready for the next step. Fuji didn't hold back anymore. He let his hands roam over Tezuka's back and arms while he let himself get undressed. Tezuka's hands were shaking a little, but Fuji didn't say anything. He just let him take his time until all buttons were undone and Fuji's shirt was off.

Fuji guided Tezuka's hands to his pants so he could take that off as well. He didn't mind that he was going to be the only one naked. He knew Tezuka would be nervous about being naked, so if he was naked first it might be less embarrassing for the older man. Within a few minutes the pants were on the floor with the shirt and Fuji was only in his underwear. He shivered. It was a little cold without clothes, so he pulled Tezuka in another kiss.

'Want me to undress you?' he asked when they broke the kiss?

'I'll do it myself,' said Tezuka. But Fuji stopped him.

'You're not done with me yet,' he smiled.

Tezuka gulped. He hooked his fingers behind Fuji's underwear and slowly pulled it down. His eyes were drawn to the place where the last piece of garment had been just seconds ago. He looked at Fuji from head to toe for a few heartbeats.

'You're beautiful,' he said. 'All your scars are gone. Your skin is perfect again.'

'You don't think it's kinky if I would have a few scars?' Fuji grinned.

Tezuka shook his head. 'No, scars are for rough men, not for beautiful ones like you.'

'Then don't make any scars on me tonight,' Fuji whispered in Tezuka's ear. 'Or aren't you a rough man? Undress and show me already!'

Tezuka quickly got out of his clothes and threw them on the floor, next to the Seer's clothes. It took him only a few seconds to join Fuji on the bed again, not giving his boyfriend much time to look at him. Fuji grinned and pushed Tezuka on his back. He wanted to take a good look at his lover too.

'Can't I see you?' he asked.

Tezuka let him, even though he thought it was embarrassing, but he had taken a good look at Fuji as well, so it was only fair.

'Nothing to be embarrassed about,' said Fuji. 'You are even bigger than I imagined. You should be proud! I sure am proud of that.'

Tezuka took his glasses off. That made things a little easier for him. Things weren't completely sharp anymore and it was easier to do this all with blurry vision.

'How do we continue?' he asked softly, a bit ashamed he didn't know.

'You don't know?' Fuji asked. 'You know how things work with a woman?'

'I do,' said Tezuka. 'I know how to do that with a man too, but…. I don't want to hurt you. My father gladly wanted to explain everything to me, but I told him he didn't need to.'

'And now you regret it,' smiled Fuji. 'But I told you I prepared everything, right? So why don't you try to turn me on? I'm sure you will be able to.'

Tezuka wasn't that shy anymore. Within a second he had turned their positions and Fuji was pinned underneath him on the bed. With one hand he grabbed Fuji's penis and he softly stroked it. Fuji let out a soft moan when Tezuka took action. He hadn't expected that, but he loved it. He loved it even more when Tezuka started to kiss him and his other hand found his way to Fuji's chest. It didn't take long before the older man was playing with the Seer's nipples and they were both enjoying it.

'Tezuka, stop,' Fuji begged. 'You're too good and I'm not used to this. I don't want to end this already. How come you are so good? Did you practice?' Fuji was panting a little from all the lovely attention he had gotten.

'How could I have practiced?' asked Tezuka. 'We have never done anything.'

'You could have practiced on yourself!' laughed Fuji.

'No, but you are nervous too, aren't you?' asked Tezuka.

'I am,' said Fuji. The smile was still on his face, but it was a lot smaller than before. It was obviously a nervous smile.

'Don't be nervous, not when you're so turned on,' Tezuka said. 'Lay back, relax and explain what you want me to do.'

'You have to get the bottle from the table,' said Fuji.

Tezuka got up from the bed and went to get said bottle. He looked at the liquid inside it, but it didn't seem very special, only that it was a bit thicker than water.

'Put some on your fingers,' said Fuji when he saw Tezuka's confused look. 'Not too much, you can take more if you need to, but it will be cold.'

Those words confused Tezuka even more, so Fuji turned on his belly and stuck his ass in the air. Tezuka looked at it for a second and then he understood.

'I put my fingers in, right?' he asked, just to be sure.

'Yes,' said Fuji. 'Be careful, please.'

The Seer was nervous because he was afraid it would hurt. But Tezuka was really gently. He slowly pushed one of his fingers inside and it went in quite easily. Tezuka moved it around a little, spreading Fuji a little wider. It felt weird to do this. This was Fuji's butt, which was incredibly sexy, but it was sucking his finger in. Tezuka added another finger. It was a bit more difficult to move them now, but the liquid made it easier. The third finger seemed impossible, but he managed. He heard Fuji let out a cry of pain, but immediately after that he was told to continue, so Tezuka did that, only even more careful than before.

'You can stop,' said Fuji after a while. He turned back around as soon as Tezuka's fingers left his body. He grabbed the bottle, put some of the liquid on his hands and took Tezuka's hard on in his hands. The Seer coated it with the liquid and then looked at his lover.

'I know this is going to hurt, but I know it will feel better later.'

'Just tell me when to stop,' said Tezuka. 'I will stop if it hurts.'

Fuji lay down on his back and spread his legs. Tezuka bend over him, but he didn't push inside. Instead he started to kiss Fuji and entangled their fingers. He made Fuji melt into the kiss and forget about any pain that could come. With one hand Tezuka guided himself inside. He gently started to push when he felt the entrance. There was resistance, but Tezuka didn't stop. He pushed until the head was inside.

Fuji cried out when that happened. It was painful, but Tezuka let him adjust to it and only continued to push in when he knew Fuji was feeling better. He paid attention to all Fuji's reactions and encouraged him to relax. Fuji tried his best to get the tension out of his muscles and in the end he succeeded, because Tezuka was buried completely inside him. They were both panting when they looked each other in the eyes. They exchanged a smile and they both knew they were ready for it.

Tezuka started moving. Slowly at first, but when Fuji asked him for more and to go a bit faster he did so. He knew there had to be something inside his lover that could make Fuji feel good. He aimed for different spots until he found it. He knew perfectly well when he hit the spot, because Fuji moaned loudly and was practically begging him for more.

It encouraged Tezuka to continue. He thrust faster and faster until he was almost slamming inside Fuji. The only sounds in the room where the slapping of flesh against flesh, their heavy breathing and their moans. They tried to kiss, but their movements were too wild. Instead Tezuka moved his hand to Fuji's crotch and started to pump him. There was no rhythm at all. They just moved to the pleasure and tried to get more and more of it.

As Tezuka kept hitting that spot inside Fuji, the Seer was coming close to the edge. Another hard thrust and he climaxed with a loud cry in Tezuka's hand. Tezuka thrust a few more times. It was hard to push through the tightened muscles, but it drove him over the edge as well, spilling his seeds inside Fuji's body.

Tezuka fell down on the bed next to Fuji. They just lay there for a few minutes until they both caught their breath. They were tired, but satisfied.

'We should have done that earlier,' said Fuji as he snuggled close to Tezuka. 'It's probably better than knowing about whatever future there might be.'

'I can't say,' said Tezuka. 'But it was the best thing I ever did.'

Fuji smiled. 'You are a natural talent.'

'I didn't hurt you?'' Tezuka asked.

'You did,' said Fuji honestly. 'But a little pain isn't going to kill me.'

'I'm glad you could enjoy it as well,' said Tezuka and he pulled Fuji a little closer. 'I love you.'

'I love you too,' whispered Fuji. 'You never said that to me before.'

'I loved you before.'

'I know,' smiled Fuji. 'I can still see the future and the past. I can see you loved me before.'

'You didn't lose your ability?' Tezuka asked a bit surprised.

'No, I still have it,' answered Fuji.

'If only we had known,' sighed Tezuka. 'We really could have done this before.'

The End


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